Out of Tune
by MadameHotaru.of.87
Summary: Trowa and Dorothy are just starting their fall when nasty ole Fate steps in. Please R&R!
1. Surprise!

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 1: "Surprise!"  
  
Summary: Not long after the Endless Waltz, Trowa and Dorothy meet again. Both are being evicted and both are looking for something they don't yet have.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, it does belong to someone I'm sure and whoever they are, they are lucky people!!  
  
Despite two years, Trowa Barton really hadn't changed much since that Christmas with Marameia, as he referred to it in his own mind. He still towered over almost everyone's head in a crowd. Yet he still had the peculiar ability to blend in like salt into water, leaving only a taste of himself as any indication that he'd even graced the area with his presence. His body was still the envy of every male bulimic, his hair still defied gravity, and his eyes were still the dream of every emerald lover. And he still didn't give a hoot about any of the qualities mentioned above. And so, today really was no different than any other.  
  
Today, Trowa found himself walking, no, gliding to his favorite bookstore to escape his stuffy apartment building. The building held nothing but a palpable hostility towards him but that was because of his bastard of a landlord.   
  
Being a Preventer really didn't add up when it came to financial needs. Duo and Heero go by because of Hilde and Relena, respectively. Wufei still had his inheritence as a back up and Quatre had, well, everything. But Trowa only had the Preventers job and so, a few payments on his rent were missed. Now he was being kicked out and he needed to go somewhere where he could escape it all.  
  
The bookstore was like him; it hadn't changed over the time that he'd known it. The familiar musty smell wafted out as he opened the glass door. And the same cheerful bell greeted him as he stepped in to the optimistic gloom. He nodded nonchalantly at the young girl standing watch behind the counter before making a cautious beeline to his reading niche at the back of the store. As he passed a rickety shelf he grabbed his worn hardcover copy of Snow Falling on Cedars. He needed to get back to reading someone else's problems for a change.  
  
He turned sharply on his heel at the end of the corridor and continued down yet another one and then another. He'd traversed this particular bookstore so frequently that he knew every twist and turn like he knew every word in "The Highway Man". Finally, after the continuous shifting of direction to throw off anyone following him, he'd reached his niche. After looking over his shoulder both ways, he pushed aside a shelf that also served as a sliding door. Beyond, stretched his haven.  
  
The room was actually the break room for the staff and also where the security televisions were located. But it was a closed off quiet place with a comfortable couch and armchair for him to relax in as he read so he gripe. The owner had taken a liking to Trowa when he had done some heavy work for him when he was first opening the shop. So when Trowa became a regular at the store, the older man allowed him to read in solitude in the secluded room.  
  
He entered the room with one last long stride and then shut the door. He'd already opened his book to where he'd left off when he saw her.  
  
Two years hadn't changed Trowa Barton and it sure as hell hadn't changed Dorothy Catalonia. She was luxuriously stretched out on the couch with a book in hand, yet she resembled a satisfied feline as she looked up at him with her almond shaped eyes.   
  
It was most definitely her, he had no doubt about it. For the first time in that particularly rough day, Trowa was genuinely surprised.  
  
Snow Falling on Cedars clattered to the floor.  
  
Keep reading please, Chapter 2 is already up!!! (and it is longer than this!) I'd deeply appreciate reviews, I keep getting pulled into teen magazines and my self-esteem is gradually decreasing lol.  
  
Aishiteru everyone!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	2. Match One: Swords Up & FIGHT!

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Two: Match One; Swords Up & FIGHT!!  
  
Disclaimer: Chapter 2 up, and I still don't own Gundam Wing! Shucks.  
  
"Such predictability in a man can be a very delectable quality yet it's highly un-exciting," the she-devil drawled. Slowly, yet with grace and sophistication, she raised herself from her laying position to sitting. Her gray eyes fell to the book lying forgotten on the floor. "And judging by your reaction, a smidgen of unpredictability is not an attractive feature in a woman. Forgive me, I'll try harder."  
  
Finally being able to give his mind something to focus on other than his shock, Trowa scrambled within to recover and shoot back.  
  
"A smidgen, Dorothy? Hate to offend by compliment, but you are the reigning Queen of Surprise."  
  
It wasn't really a shot at her, but it was enough to stir up some interesting conversation. In his search for solitude, he hadn't realized how much he missed human interaction. Plus, he was interested to see why Dorothy, of all people, would be in his hiding place when he hadn't seen her in two years.   
  
The blonde's sharp features were highlighted as she grinned like Cheshire cat. Despite not knowing her well, Trowa knew well enough that Ms. Catalonia grinning was not a usual occurrence.  
  
"Not an offence at all, Mr. Barton. I'm quite flattered that you'd think that little predictable me would be deserving of such a title!" she gushed. She swung her legs off the couch and crossed them, before stretching her arms out along the top edges of the couch. She fit the part of a modern day queen.  
  
Trowa had become increasingly uncomfortable standing, as if it made him vulnerable. So he sat down in the armchair across from Dorothy, matching her looks glare for glare.  
  
"So Dorothy, why do you think of me as predictable?" He'd been surprised again when she called him so; it was as if she'd expected him to be there. But that was impossible; he stressed in his mind the fact that they hadn't seen each other in two years!  
  
"Your usually sharp mind has either been dulled over time or you've finally descended into a mortal state of being and temporally forgot that this room is equipped with these darling security TV's." She was right, he had forgotten about them. However, he rarely paid them any mind.  
  
"Of course, how silly of me," he replied. It was then that he realized that he'd also forgotten to pick up his book from where he had left it. And it was also then that Dorothy decided to make a comment on it.  
  
"Your book, Mr. Barton, is still lying on the floor. Oh, stupid me, of course. You must have meant to leave it there! Never mind then, I'll just go on reading my own book. Leave it to me to make a silly comment on such a trivial thing!" She was a genius at verbal fighting, she knew just what buttons to press and how hard to press them. But he was a skilled fighter himself, that much he prided himself in, and wasn't about to back down.  
  
"Well of course I meant to leave it there. That's where books belong don't they? On the floor?" Inside he was grinning like the Mad-Hatter. "That's where women belong too, isn't it?" He finished offhandedly. 'One point to me,' he mused.   
  
Her face was priceless. But her body language came first. She drew herself up to her fullest height while still sitting and her legs uncrossed then crossed again and her chin flew up. But her face, if only he'd had a camera. Her eyes followed a straight line down her face towards him, her lips were drawn together like a purse, her nose was up in the air, and her brows knitted together, showing off for only a moment her dissatisfaction. However, like the true fighter she was, she pulled herself back together and parried with aggression.  
  
"My, Mr. Barton, what a vulgar thing to say to such a delicate creature like myself. But then again, I suppose you're right. Women do belong on the floor, don't they?" And without warning she'd slid from the couch to the floor and like a tiger, was now crawling towards him. She stopped just a few feet in front of him, smiled seductively, and turned away towards the book. Her own book sat closed neatly on the couch.  
  
Inside, Trowa sighed a sigh of relief. If she'd carried through with the attack he thought she was going to do, he didn't think he'd be able to fight her off. His gaze traveled back to where Dorothy had now picked up his book and begun reading it intently. 'Damn her, but she's good!'  
  
She knew better than anyone what a rush it was to dive into a fight and how the mental adrenaline river flooded everything else until all you wanted to do was fight. Being silent was her attack. But he knew just how to turn it against her.  
  
He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the sliding door open. His own personal invitation.  
  
'Two points for her and two points for me. Let's see what happens next…' his thoughts trailed off as he exited the book store, nodding again at the young girl behind the counter with a uncharacteristic grin.  
  
***  
  
Time wise, Trowa didn't have to wait long for Dorothy to come and find him. However, she held out much longer than he'd expected; a whole two and a half hours he'd had to wait alone in the coffee shop across from the bookstore until she cam out of there. And it wasn't by chance that she came into the coffee shop either.  
  
She came because she knew that it'd be a place that he would go. Trowa grinned as he took a sip of his Jamaican coffee; she most definitely was the Queen of Surprise. But she knew just how to disguise it.  
  
The smell of coffees blended together filled Dorothy's senses as she approached her quarry. He was tough. Most men would have given up waiting an hour ago. But she knew he'd hang on. He wouldn't let her win without a fight. 'How adorable,' she thought wryly. She nodded curtly at the waitress as she filed by and took a seat across from Trowa as if it had been reserved for her.  
  
"You came," Trowa commented dryly as he continued reading the paper he'd picked up from the news stand next to the book store. Dorothy nodded.  
  
"I had to return your book of course," she replied with an equal air of nonchalance.  
  
"Glad to see you've dropped the fancy airs," he continued, trying not to pay attention to her comment. From behind his mess of hair he could see her eyes narrow as she placed the book in front of the article he was reading.  
  
"Would you like something, m'am?" The airy voice of the waitress broke their bantering.   
  
"Yes, a French vanilla cappuccino please, thank you," Dorothy replied quickly. The distraction dealt with, she returned to her hunt. Trowa saw the determined look in her eyes and decided that enough had been enough. It was time to end this game and get right down to the issue he'd wanted to discuss with the woman before one of them gained the upper hand.  
  
"I think I'll follow the waitress's lead and ask the same; Dorothy, is there something I can do for you?" Trowa had folded his paper around his book and stored it away in the large pockets of his coat. Dorothy's eyes lost a little shimmer and he knew that he'd disappointed her. However, she did reply.  
  
"Yes, actually there is. Mr. Winner had-"  
  
"Quatre."  
  
"Excuse me?" Dorothy seemed dumbfounded and, dare he think it, surprised.  
  
"His name is Quatre and mine is Trowa. I thought you had dropped those fancy titles," he explained.  
  
"All right then, fine, Quatre told me that you were in a bit of a financial jam and that, well, you were being kicked out of your apartment building," she said in a bit of an uncharacteristic rush. Trowa however, nodded in agreement with what she said.  
  
"Yes, I have had some trouble with money, but that's really none of your concern, now is it?"  
  
"No need to get testy Mr.-er, Trowa. I'm not here to patronize or to sympathize. I'm here to strike a deal," she whispered. She was no longer meeting his gaze but staring at the surface of the table.  
  
"Here you are ma'm." The waitress returned with Dorothy's cappuccino. Dorothy looked up and smiled sweetly.  
  
"Thank you." Her voice sounded slightly strained and even a little on the shaky side.  
  
"Is something wrong Dorothy?" Trowa asked with concern lacing his words. It'd been so long since he'd fought like that with anyone. Wufei had been his only competitor but time as a Preventor had made him too busy to debate. Yet come to think of it, he had had fought someone else. The person sitting in front of him now. He'd been quite entertained with their verbal match up until this point but it occurred to him that, just like on the White Fang ship, Dorothy would put up a strong face, but her endurance just wasn't as good as his.   
  
"I'm fine," she hissed, looking away from him and at the floor. He nodded, knowing that she wasn't fine and that whatever deal she wanted to strike was a burden to her.  
  
"You mentioned you wanted to strike a deal?"  
  
"Yes, you see, I too am having a bit of-well, that is to say I am…I…" she faltered.  
  
"You're broke?" Dorothy looked up from her cappuccino and into the emerald eye that wasn't covered by hair.  
  
"In a matter of speaking, yes."  
  
"So what kind of deal do you want to strike? I can't borrow you any money, I have none my-"  
  
"I want you to help me buy an apartment," she announced, cutting him off.   
  
"Ugh, I just told you Dorothy, I have very little money myself," he replied, slightly exasperated.  
  
"I know, that's why I've come to you. If you put our money together, we can get this apartment that I've picked out on 13th street," her pace had increased as she realized that she didn't need to be ashamed of the fact that she had little money.  
  
"Why should I give you my money for an apartment for you? You forget, I'm getting kicked out of my own." Dorothy was now starting to wear on his nerves. However, the blonde just shook her head, causing her long hair to swirl intoxicatingly over her shoulders.  
  
"That's the thing Trowa, the apartment wouldn't just be for me. I want you to live with me!" she exclaimed.   
  
If Trowa had a dollar for every time he'd been surprised by this woman in just 24 hours, he'd probably have had enough to pay off his rent. Too bad there was no divine being handing out such cash.  
  
Ok, that's it for Chapter 2. Hope you liked it. I know Trowa and Dorothy is an odd pairing, but I've seen worse, trust me!  
  
Please R/R!! Flames are great too, nice clean sources of energy!! Great to cook up new ideas on!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	3. Two Days & An Apartment Later

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 3: Two Days and An Apartment Later…  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, end of story.  
  
Trowa sighed as he made a full turn in the living room of his new apartment. Well, he and Dorothy's apartment. He had to admit, the girl had good taste. A series of large windows made up the majority of the eastern wall and the kitchenette swept across the wall from the windows to the northern corner, where the door was. On the his right and to the south were the two bedrooms that he and Dorothy would have to eventually fight over and between them was what was supposed to be the bathroom. However, when he said it was supposed to be, that was where the problem was, the main flaw of this apartment.  
  
It was a studio apartment, meaning no walls as of yet. Dorothy had assured him that they'd be getting some screens to go around the bathroom's area but as of yet, these rumored screens had not showed up. And Trowa knew that he'd have to use the bathroom sooner or later.  
  
"Where do you want this, sir?" a slightly weak voice asked from behind. He turned to see the burliest man he'd ever seen in his life carrying his sofa.   
  
"I'm not sure, Dorothy is the interior designer," he muttered in return.   
  
"Alright then, I'll just set it here." And with that he plopped it in front of Trowa. This was terribly convenient seeing as how Trowa was sick of standing around, not being able to do anything.  
  
"Ok, just put the kitchen table near the stove, that's it! No, those boxes are for the bathroom, NO!!! That's the BEDROOM!!" Dorothy's voice could be very high pitched, Trowa noted.  
  
"How can you tell?" Trowa inquired from below. Dorothy's eyes turned to ice as she glared down at Trowa.  
  
"And just WHAT do you thing YOU are doing?" she fired back. Trowa shrugged.  
  
"Weren't you just telling me to get out of your way? Well, that's what I'm doing!" Dorothy threw up her hands in exasperation, leaving behind a very self-satisfied male.  
  
***  
  
"Dorothy, sit down. You've been on your feet all day," Trowa called from the kitchenette. Dorothy furiously shook her head as a reply, as she was to busy putting up another screen around her bedroom.   
  
She'd finished with Trowa's room and the bathroom, but had left her own for last. However, she didn't realize that those screens took an hour each to put up and secure and it was now past 10 o'clock.   
  
Trowa sighed a long sigh before pushing off from the kitchen table to give her a hand. She'd refused the last time he offered and he was sure that she'd refuse this time too, but that didn't matter.  
  
"Here, let me help," he said close to her ear. Dorothy looked up from the wires that she was untangling and into his face. His breath across her face had been warm and soothing.   
  
"I have everything under control," she replied calmly. However, on the inside she was doing summersaults. His close proximity was driving her sending chills up her spine.  
  
"Except your hair, my dear," he answered with a gesture towards her golden locks. Slowly she felt her recent awe of him subside to a bit of a disappointed anger.  
  
"My hair is perfectly fine, and I don't need your help. I didn't need your help before, I sure as hell don't need it now!" With that she turned her back on him and continued untangling wires. Trowa rolled his eyes and made to turn away when an idea hit him.   
  
"Oh, but Dorothy, I think you do need some help!" Trowa wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her up and away from the wiring.   
  
"Trowa Barton, put me down!! Right now!! I'm warning you!!" Dorothy screeched. Her tiny hands pummeled his shoulders but he paid them no heed, even though they hurt.  
  
"You need to rest!" he declared and sat her down in one of the kitchen tables in front of a plate of food he'd set out for her. "But first, eat!" he ordered. Dorothy glowered up at him after glancing at her food.  
  
"You can't tell me what to do!" she cried and got up from the table, making her way to the screens she still needed to put up. 'How dare he do such a-' Her thoughts were cut off as Trowa grabbed her again and carried her into his room. 'Oh good God, what is he doing?!' she frantically asked herself as he plopped her down onto his bed.  
  
"If you won't eat, then you'll sleep. I'll put up the screens tomorrow morning," he ordered and walked out of the room. Dorothy lied there, confused as to what to do. She didn't want to stay in his bed, that left her vulnerable to him and to his whims. But she didn't want to go back out there because there was no telling what he'd do next.  
  
She looked around the room. 'How lazy,' she thought as she caught site of the boxes still lying unopened in the room. In fact, there was only two things that had been put away in this room besides the furniture; the bedding on the bed and a guitar. Her slender hands couldn't resist as she reached out and plucked at a string on the instrument. A deep, echoing sound resonated throughout the room and Dorothy was for a moment scared that Trowa would come back into the room.  
  
But then, with the guitar's note still ringing in her mind, she realized that Trowa certainly wasn't like that. In fact, now it came to her that every time he ordered her to do something, it was something to help her and his voice never was harsh or demanding. It was still soft, even if he became louder.   
  
With these comforting thoughts, Dorothy snuggled into the warmth of Trowa's bedding, which smelled like a mix of intoxicating male scent and maybe, pine trees? Whatever the blend, it was soothing and put the girl to sleep.  
  
Trowa snuck back to the opening of his room and caught site of her finally asleep. She didn't look as intimidating asleep. In fact, her normal tiger-like appearance softened to that of a slumbering kitten. Smiling to himself, he snuck back to his place on the couch and soon, fell prisoner to Sleep.  
  
Hope you all liked this one, a little more Trowa/Dorothy action. More in the next installment, I promise! However, I'm holding off on kissing, this couple is a slow developing one, so don't expect kissing until at least Chapter Five. But I'll post often, so you won't have to wait long!  
  
Please R/R!!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	4. Quatre Over Breakfast

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 4: Quatre Over Breakfast  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Dorothy or Trowa (shucks!). Please don't sue me; I still have Christmas shopping to do!!  
  
Thanks to my two reviewers! BrenRick (yes, I know who you are) and mariel4000 (*random hug* I love random hugs!!). You two rock!!  
  
Trowa awoke to gray eyes staring into his own. He was about to ask why in the world Dorothy had decided to take residence on top of him when he felt a pair of warm satin lips press against his own. Her smaller hands lifted his own callous ones into her silken hair. When her mission was complete, she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her lips fall completely against his own. Her hands rubbed the knots in his back as her mouth began to lay feather kisses across his lips. He never would have guessed that Dorothy knew how to even kiss a man let alone seduce him like this. But of course, it was normal for Dorothy to surprise him.  
  
Suddenly, Dorothy pulled away and snuggled her head into the crook between his neck and collarbone. Her extraordinarily long hair lay across the bottom half of his face. He took a deep breath to recover from the kiss and to catch a scent of her locks. They smelled a heavenly scent of…bacon and eggs?  
  
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Dorothy's sultry voice came from behind him. Trowa shot up from his position on the couch and whirled around to see Dorothy in the clothes she'd fallen asleep in the night before. She was standing in front of the stove cooking what must have been bacon in a cast iron skillet. Her hair was just as frazzled as it had been when she was putting up wires but her face wasn't stretched by stress and work. Her clothes hung off her figure in a rumpled sort of way but every detail seemed to enhance Trowa's image of her. But that, he reassured himself, was because of that silly dream.  
  
"How do you prefer your eggs?" Dorothy asked, as she moved to the other side of the stove to flip some eggs. 'Fertilized,' answered the deep reaches of his mind. He shook his head furiously to wipe out the thought, causing his hair to go flying about his face. 'I can't think like that, she's my room mate,' the rational portion of his brain responded. 'Think of an egg type, think of an egg type, quick!!' thought the part of his mind that was in charge of speech.  
  
"Trowa?" Dorothy was beginning to wonder just what in the world was going on in the mind of the ex-Gundam pilot lying before her. His brown hair was thrown about and ruffled, like he'd just gotten out of bed. 'Well, duh Dorothy, he just DID get out of bed,' she scolded. 'Besides, he's your room mate, not a potential…well, anything!' She turned away from him and focused on the eggs but realized she still didn't know what to do with them.  
  
"Benedict!" Trowa finally cried. 'Benedict? Benedict!?!?! THAT'S how you like your eggs?!?!! Since when?!' all parts screamed at him. He cringed at the stupid response and the way he'd said it. Dorothy twirled around, a look of surprise lacing her face.  
  
"Benedict? Well, I must say Trowa, I'm not sure how to make benedict eggs. Would you mind over-easy?" she questioned nervously. 'Why are you being so silly?!' her mind scolded yet again. 'What do you care if he likes his eggs benedict or not!!??'  
  
"Over-easy is fine, over-easy is good!" Trowa squeaked. 'Why can't you sound more manly! At least TRY to impress her!' the darker side of his mind cried. "Er-I mean, over-easy is ok." He'd lowered his voice and now was very proud of himself. Slowly, he lifted himself from the couch and walked to the bathroom. He needed to get out of the feline girl's presence before he did something he'd really regret.  
  
"All right then," Dorothy said more to herself than to Trowa. "Over-easy I can manage," she whispered as she flipped the two eggs over. One of them broke and the other landed half in the skillet and half out. 'Can you really manage Dorothy, dear? Sure you don't need the big man's help!?' Her mind was obviously not pleased with her. Dorothy's shoulders sank as she lifted the egg back into the skillet and waited for it to cook. "Toast, I should make some toast!" she declared to the stove. 'Sure you can handle toast?' her mind asked wryly. But Dorothy ignored herself and pulled out the bread.   
  
She turned from the toaster and grabbed some plates from the cupboard. As she turned to the table, she nearly screamed at herself in frustration. She'd left all of the tools and excess wire from the screens on the table.   
  
"This is no place to eat!" she whispered harshly to herself. Quickly, as though her life depended on it, she removed the offensive things off the table and onto the coffee table. As she passed by the couch, she caught a whiff of that wonderful aroma that she'd fallen asleep to last night and woken up to this morning. She had dubbed it Trowa's smell.  
  
Oh, if she could just sit for a while and soak up that wonderful smell.  
  
And that's what she did.  
  
If only there was a way to carry that aroma with her, she would be so happy.   
  
So she pulled at the blanket Trowa slept under and cuddled into it.   
  
Mmm, heaven…  
  
Inside the bathroom, Trowa was amazed at the site before him. The bathroom definitely was not going to be his domain. The only way to describe it was to say someone had gone crazy with a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. However, his thoughts on the pink predicament were short lived because Dorothy decided to pop up into his head again.   
  
"All this 'cuz of a stupid dream," he groaned quietly to himself as he stared into the mirror. Cautiously he turned on the faucet and splashed super cold water on his face. "Why now," he asked himself quietly as he directed his attention to the bottom of the sink. He pushed off and decided that it would be better to face her now then later. That was when he caught the smell of smoke.  
  
"Oh, Trowa," Dorothy whispered quietly, the smell still invading her senses. That was when the smoke from the eggs decided to invade her as well.  
  
"OH MY GOD!!!" Dorothy screamed, shooting up from the couch and darting to the stove. Her scream was all the more encouragement that Trowa needed as he too bolted from the bathroom to her side.   
  
Fire had engulfed the eggs and burned them to a crisp. Trowa quickly grabbed one of the dish towels hanging next to the sink and smothered it out while Dorothy frantically tried to save the bacon and her skillets. When the fire was finally put out, the skillets saved, and breakfast ruined, it was then that our poor hero and heroine realized just how they'd come to position themselves.  
  
Trowa had his arms wrapped around Dorothy's arms to reach the stove while she was leaning back into his chest to escape the heat while pivoting to reach both stove and counter. As though each of them were a fire themselves, they jumped apart. Unfortunately, they jumped in the same direction, causing a bit of a stir involving Dorothy, Trowa, and two of the kitchen chairs.  
  
"OUCH!!"   
  
"That was my ear!"  
  
"YEAH, well that's my foot!!"  
  
"Watch out!"  
  
"DON'T YELL AT ME!!"  
  
"WELL, DON'T YELL AT ME!!"  
  
*CRACK!*   
  
"You almost broke my chair!!"  
  
"Well, if YOU hadn't pushed ME!!!"  
  
"WOULD YOU BOTH SHUT UP!!" the landlord screamed. Trowa and Dorothy's heads shot towards the direction of their door. Fortunately, the man had only passed by the door and decided not to enter.   
  
"If I can still here you when I get out into the street, then the both of you are outta here!!" he yelled through the door. The two listened as stomped away. Trowa was lying on the floor, still sprawled on top of the chair while Dorothy was teetering on the edge of another one. A swift kick from Trowa sent her flying.  
  
"You asshole!!" she whispered harshly.  
  
"That's for pushing me into this stupid chair!" he whispered back. Dorothy pulled herself up and kicked the chair back into an upright position, all while glaring down at Trowa. Meanwhile, Trowa was thanking his stars that the fight had relieved him of his scandalous thoughts of his room mate.  
  
"Yes, well, you shouldn't yell at me, not after I went through the trouble of making you breakfast!" she whispered. And with that, she threw the remnants of the burned eggs at Trowa's face.  
  
***  
  
After Dorothy cleaned up the kitchen, Trowa decided to complete the task of breakfast. He salvaged the bacon and toast, then made a new batch of eggs, all of them over-easy. Since he wasn't in the mood to go near the kitchen chairs again, he decided to take his plate and sit on the couch. While breakfast was cooking, Dorothy had busied herself unpacking living room things. She was halfway done when she decided to also sit down and eat.  
  
Trowa shifted as Dorothy sat delicately on the sofa and began to eat. From behind his still ruffled hair, he could see her eating as though she were dining with the Queen of England. 'Befitting, her being a queen herself,' he thought dryly.  
  
He continued eating on in silence until Dorothy decided to break it. Unlike earlier today, when she was talking to him like a normal 18 year old girl, she was now back to her formal bitch-itude.  
  
"So, Trowa," She made an emphasis on Trowa, "how is Quatre?"  
  
Trowa was, no surprise here, surprised again.  
  
"I don't really know. I've been on vacation so I haven't seen him since Monday. Besides, I thought you were the one who always kept in touch with him," he said, talking mostly to his toast. He heard Dorothy snort delicately.   
  
"That's not what I meant. I meant, how IS he?" she said with a seductive wink. It was then that Trowa's mind finally caught on to what she was hinting. However, he wasn't surprised this time. It hadn't been the first someone asked him what his relationship with the blonde man was.  
  
"You seem to be mistaken in thinking that Quatre and I are romantically involved. Quatre and I are both straight, thank you. And to be honest, I thought it was YOU who was involved with Quatre," he replied. Dorothy's eyebrows shot up close to her hairline.  
  
"Me! And Quatre!? God no!" Her tone had lost its formalness, now that she knew that the Quatre button wouldn't work with him. "You forget, I am the one who-" she faltered.  
  
"Who stabbed him?" Trowa finished. He'd set his plate down, now finished with his breakfast and having a steadily growing interest in Dorothy's words.  
  
"Yes, I was the one who stabbed him," she whispered. Trowa nodded, looking away. He knew, without having to have Quatre's Space Heart, that Dorothy felt guilty for her actions then. But he didn't blame her. She'd only been 15 then, they'd ALL been 15. Naïve and full of ideals and everyone of them stubborn as mules. She was the embodiment of those things completely. She was just naïve and idealistic in a much more different way then the rest of them.  
  
Trowa looked up at her again and saw a tear fall down her cheek. He resisted the urge to wipe it from her face, to take away all her pain. Instead, he decided to help cheer her up.  
  
"Well, don't girls usually pick on the boys that they like?" he asked with a gentle smile. However, instead of the laugh he was going for, he got another piece of egg thrown in his face.  
  
Now if there was only a divine being handing out cash for every time he got egg in the face…  
  
End of Chapter 4. Hope you liked. I know that I said there wouldn't be kissing until Chapter 5 but this was dream kissing, much different! Lol.  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	5. Dinner & A Close Call

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Five: Dinner and A Close Call  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters! And NO!, I did NOT kidnap them!  
  
This chapter sets up the action of this story, so it's going to be long. There won't be a kissing scene but we're getting close people, I promise!!  
  
The rest of that day was pretty much uneventful until dinner. The two had basically avoided each other. Trowa put up the rest of Dorothy's screens while she made the final touches to her room and the living room. Around lunchtime, Dorothy decided to escape the uncomfortable silence and go grocery shopping. While she was gone, Trowa found the time to finish unpacking his things and getting his own room in order.   
  
He was halfway finished filling his dresser with what little clothes he had when the vid-phone, which they'd set up in the kitchenette, rang loudly. He set down one of his turtlenecks and ran to the phone, expecting an emergency at work. Like a flash, he'd pounced on the on button and found himself starring into the face of his fellow Gundam pilot, Duo Maxwell.  
  
"Barton here, what's wrong?" Trowa inquired urgently. Duo grinned his characteristic grin, his long braid swaying behind him as he put up his hands like someone trying to stop a car.  
  
"Whoa, there buddy! No fire, just wanted to call and see how the new apartment was coming along and everything!" his somewhat surfer dude voice chimed across the distance. Duo lived with his fiancée Hilde on L2, the neighboring colony of L3.  
  
"Well, it's coming I suppose," Trowa answered. He was starting to miss work. The sexual tension between Dorothy and himself had only escalated as he remembered his closeness to her while they put out that breakfast fire.  
  
"M-hm, well, Hilde and me was wondering if you and Dorothy'd like to accompany us to dinner tonight? We'll be in the neighborhood, seeing as how there's a part that Hilde needs for her new bike in a store on L3. What do'ya say Trowa my man?" Duo's violet eyes were pleading with him to go so as he wouldn't have to be alone with his very pregnant soon-to-be wife. Hilde tended to get a little moody, particularly when food was involved and Duo was in the premises. Duo also seemed a little more sober than usual. Perhaps something had happened at the office that Trowa had not yet heard about. He hoped that this was not the case.  
  
"Well, I don't know about Dorothy, but I'll be there. The usual place, I presume?" he asked with a wry smile. Duo blew a mushroom cloud of relief then rolled his eyes.   
  
"Of course, Trowa. Hilde never misses an opportunity to go to Pizza Master Arcade…especially with, you know, the P.R.E.G.N.A.N.C.Y!" he finished with a harsh whisper. From off screen came a flying shoe aimed carefully for Duo's head. The thrower was obviously female because she hit him right on target. (Am I right ladies, or am I right?! LOL)  
  
"I HEARD THAT!!!" Hilde's voice screeched from another room. Duo cringed slightly.  
  
"God, I love that woman," he chanted as though it was something that kept him from losing his sanity. 'Which it probably is,' Trowa mused.  
  
"Well, I can see you're busy Duo. I'll see you tonight then." And with that, Trowa logged off, leaving Duo to fend for himself. He chuckled lightly at what he was probably in store for tonight as he headed back to his room.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Dorothy had agreed to go with Trowa to the dinner date, seeing as it gave her a chance to dress up. She stood in front of her full-length mirror examining how she looked.   
  
She'd chosen an elegant gray velvet dress that came to a stop just above her knee and was cut off by black velvet lining in the middle of her upper arms. A black floral pattern swirled around her body and contrasted sharply with her near white hair. And instead of her normal black headband holding back her hair, she'd decided to sweep it to the side and hold it with a low centered ponytail.   
  
For the first time in a long time, she actually felt desirable. She knew she'd probably be overdressed, considering they were going to a pizzeria, but she didn't care. Dorothy needed to have a man look at her again and not just pass her by. She needed her dose of attention.  
  
She decided that she'd primped enough and walked out of her room, expecting Trowa to be waiting for her at the door. However, he was still primping himself. She allowed herself a chuckle as she realized that she'd just proved one of the biggest dinner date stereotypes wrong; women don't necessarily take longer than man! Amused, she allowed herself to relax as she waited for Trowa to get done.  
  
Trowa looked back at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He supposed that this was as good as it was going to get. He'd decided to go for, what else, a green turtleneck. He countered his predictability with a dangerous looking black vest, pants, and shoes. It'd been awhile since he'd worn black, so used to his khaki Preventer uniform. It always made him feel more enigmatic, not that he really needed a boost in that particular field. Giving one last brush through his long, brown locks, he stepped out of the bathroom.  
  
Before him lay a very intoxicating sight. Dorothy was sitting on top of their kitchen table, her legs crossed, and her delicious curves paving him a path towards some very dark thoughts. However, he wasn't the only one guilty of such things. Dorothy too was getting her own piece of eye candy. Again resembling a feline, her eyes traced the outline of Trowa's lean shape unfortunately hidden from her view by that clothing. Not that the clothing was in bad taste. Let's just say they made better doors than windows for the girl.  
  
"Shall we be off then?" Trowa asked, his voice returning to him. He opened the door for her and followed her out. He was so preoccupied with following the dance like movements of her behind that he didn't lock the door behind him.  
  
  
  
***  
  
The cab ride to dinner was perhaps the most trying part of her night, both Dorothy and Trowa would think later on down the road. And that was saying something, considering what happened afterwards. They'd decided to take a cab since they were already running late and the place chosen was on the other side of the colony. So they crammed into the back seat, fumbled with seat belts, brushed hands, stole glances, 'accidentally' rubbed legs together, and all of the other happy things that went along with sitting next to someone who had you by the proverbial balls. That heady scent that came with Trowa was now driving Dorothy mad as it washed over like a tsunami wave. Each time he shifted, the tide of aroma would shift and it drove her up the wall as she tried in discreet ways to get closer to that intoxicating scent.  
  
At first, she tried needed to open the windows of the backseat. And instead of 'troubling' Trowa with opening his side window, she reached across him and opened it herself. This not only achieved her goal in getting closer to the source of the smell, but it also wreaked havoc on Trowa's bodily functions. Her silken hair, the hair that he had dreamed about holding fist-fulls of in his dream, was hanging loosely over his lap. It was just daring him to touch it. 'I could just reach out and-' but he cut himself off before he could think about it any further.  
  
After the windows were rolled down, Dorothy realized a slight flaw in her plan. With the windows rolled down, the backseat got cold fast, especially with winter closing in on the colony. However, this opened up a whole new opportunity. Smiling inwardly, she snuggled into Trowa's side, her face lying on his leather jacket. 'Mmm, heaven,' she thought happily. Trowa tried desperately not to look down at her face but he couldn't help himself. He looked down and was astounded at the innocence trapped in one face, a face he usually associated with one that belonged in an erotic film. He smiled a grateful smile and casually draped his arm across her shoulders. Dorothy's eyes shot open at the contact but slowly closed again as she realized this brought another wave of that earthy aroma to her nose and more warmth to snuggle into.   
  
The two's happiness was short lived however, as the cab driver had pulled up to the side of the their preordained destination. Trowa couldn't remember a time that he'd been so disappointed to arrive somewhere in his life. Unwillingly, he pulled his arm away from Dorothy and paid the man. Then he opened his door and helped Dorothy out onto the sidewalk. She gave him a melting smile as she gracefully stepped onto the cement and began walking towards the pizzeria. She too was disappointed that the ride had to end so soon but was glad to be away from the scent. Too much exposure made her mind think very naughty little things.  
  
The dinner was nice, as was the company. Hilde and Duo's antics were the main amusement of the night but the focus of both Trowa and Dorothy's attention was the other. Like the backseat, the two would occasionally rub up against each other, touch beneath the table, and what not. All of this did not go unnoticed by the keen eye of Duo Maxwell; however, the hard hand of Hilde Scheinebecker kept him from commenting.   
  
Hilde was a beautiful woman, Dorothy noted to herself. She'd heard about her from Quatre but had never really met her. Her dark hair and eyes complimented her complexion wonderfully. And her large tummy seemed to be so natural to the short girl's figure, like she was meant to give birth to children. Dorothy knew that just some women weren't fit for it. She considered herself one of them.  
  
Duo she'd met once, in passing in the aftermath of the war. Her initial impression was right on, he was a clown. However, he seemed to be a serious man with a loyal heart underneath the mask. So he fit Hilde perfectly. Inside, Dorothy sighed. 'If only-' however, the thought was never finished, because their pizzas had arrived.  
  
Trowa gazed at Dorothy from across the table, wondering if she was all right. A slightly wistful expression had crossed her face, closely followed by a sad one. She glanced over at him then averted her eyes, as did he. The rest of the dinner was spent eating and talking but the two never made eye contact again. Hilde and Dorothy made fast friends, chatting loudly about clothes, shopping, and the tiresome duties of having a male partner. They giggled about how much easier life would be without them as the boys looked on with mock glares of their own.   
  
Duo and Trowa, meanwhile, talked quietly about the growing situation on Earth. Trowa's vacation and the unexpected arrival of Dorothy had made him blissfully forget of his duties as protector of peace. Duo informed him that while he was gone, a new faction had come to the Preventers attention. Although they did not seem to be too much of a threat as a group, they did pose a threat to the new calm that had settled over the masses of other factions that had been put down by the Preventers. If this new group played their cards right with their own form of diplomacy, they could possibly have an army of other groups united beneath them. However, as of yet, the group had only caused minor terror ripples throughout Earth and the colonies; robberies, a handful of murders, and a few carefully placed kidnappings. All of these had been squashed however by local authorities and the Preventers hadn't been involved until now.  
  
Trowa sighed deeply. He knew before that this dinner would entail something more than just friendly conversation. He looked down at his deluxe pizza and suddenly had lost his appetite. He stole a glance again at Dorothy but she was still gossiping with Hilde. Duo had now gone silently, now staring at his fiancée. Trowa could just imagine what he was thinking. Duo loved the thought of being a father but instead of him using it as an excuse to slack off more, he'd actually become more preoccupied with his job. Trowa supposed it was because Duo couldn't stand the thought of his child growing up in the same war torn world he had.   
  
***  
  
  
  
The dinner ended faster than Trowa thought it would have. Hilde started complaining of slight pains and the two decided that they should call it a night before the missed the last ferry to their own home colony. The four of them said goodnight at the entrance of the pizzeria, leaving Trowa and Dorothy alone again.  
  
"Would you like to take a cab home?" Trowa asked with a little more distance than usual. His coldness stung at Dorothy but she shook her head nonetheless.  
  
"No, I'd like to walk home actually. I think I ate too much," she replied with a grin. Trowa rolled his eyes at the thought of her actually eating too much. However, he made no further comment but just started walking. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply on the problem on Earth. Distantly, he heard Dorothy jogging in her heels to catch up with him. He didn't realize how long he'd been walking or how close they'd gotten to their apartment until she spoke.  
  
"When is it supposed to snow?" she asked quietly. Dorothy had overheard the quiet conversation between Duo and Trowa and she knew that it would be a new burden on her roommate.  
  
"The colony scheduled it for…tonight, I think," was the equally quiet reply. He pulled his head up and looked over at her. Her head was hanging down and she was staring at her feet like a child that had been scolded. It was then that he realized that he'd been treating her very rudely, especially after warming up to her in the backseat of the cab. He stopped and put two fingers under her chin, giving it three light taps. She raised her head up and looked up at him.  
  
At that exact moment, the scheduled snow promised by the colony officials began to fall around them. Trowa still hadn't moved his hand, but had gently cupped her chin in his hand. The lovely calluses on his hand scraped against her skin yet it felt like silk. Her eyes had widened at his touch then slowly drooped to a close and a sigh. Trowa took a step closer to her. Dorothy breathed in deep and was rewarded with that same scent she'd slowly come to obsess over. She smiled gently as Trowa lowered his face close to hers. His other hand rose to her cheek and her own hands moved against their will to his wrists, to his upper arms, to his shoulders. Before she knew it, they were wrapped around his neck. His breath smelled like pizza as she was sure hers did but she didn't care. She wanted to be kissed. She wanted him to wrap her in his arms. She wanted to be protected, to feel safe.  
  
Trowa never knew how much he'd really wanted to do this until now. This moment seemed so right, so perfect. There was only an inch of space between his lips and hers. It was so much like his dream-  
  
"Pinch me," he whispered hoarsely. Dorothy's eyes fluttered open, looking up into his from beneath his hair. She'd never fully comprehended how much taller Trowa was than her until she stood here next to him, pressed against him.  
  
"What?" she whispered back.  
  
"Pinch me, tell me I'm not dreaming," he whispered with his eyes closed, as though it would keep him here in this moment just in case he was dreaming. Carefully, Dorothy tugged at the hair at the base of his neck. Trowa smiled and opened his eyes.  
  
"Thank God," he whispered more to himself than to her. Dorothy smiled and closed her eyes again, awaiting her kiss. However, she felt her heart sink when he didn't. When she reopened her eyes for a second time, she saw that his attention was now focused on an object to her far right. Across the street from them was the large expansive park that had initially attracted Dorothy to the area. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that they were only a block from home.  
  
"That man just came from our apartment building," Trowa said quietly. Dorothy felt her blood begin to boil. 'How dare he almost kiss me and then just-' but she didn't finish her thought for the second time that night because Trowa had grabbed her wrist and was now running for their apartment building.   
  
It took everything in Dorothy to try to keep up with the Heavyarms pilot. Yet she still couldn't keep his pace and ended up letting go of his hand and falling in the exact instant. Trowa immediately backpedaled and lifted her from the sidewalk. In his furious pace to get home, he threw the poor girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued running. Now Dorothy was angry. She'd been refused a kiss, forced to run in her expensive heels, had broken one of them and skinned her knee, and was now jiggling atop Trowa's shoulder. Boy, was he gonna get it when they got home.  
  
Thankfully Trowa he could not sense the anger now radiating from his roommate. All he knew was that they were in danger out in the open and that the man he'd spotted from the corner of his eye was following them. With a rush of adrenaline, he opened the door to their building and ran the 3 flights of steps to their apartment with Dorothy still on his shoulder.  
  
As he entered their hallway he mentally kicked himself for forgetting to lock their door. It was hanging open and he knew in that instant that the man he'd seen had been in there.   
  
"Dorothy, I don't want you to panic, but when we enter that apartment, I want you to get on the vid-phone with Lady Une and don't spare a second. I'm going back and see if I can find that man."  
  
And with those words, Trowa picked up Dorothy from her perch and gently set her down in their hallway. With a final caress of her cheek, Trowa was gone again down the stairs. Her final image of him was of him hurriedly pulling out his .9 millimeter.  
  
The anger inside of her had vanished as she ran to their apartment to do as she was told.  
  
I told you we were getting close to a kissing scene! I'm really glad to see the reviews I've gotten so far, considering that this story was just in the Just In section until last night! Thank You Everyone who's read this and reviewed.  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	6. Kiss It All Better

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 6: Kiss It All Better  
  
I'd like to thank all of my reviewers right now, all 4 of you rock lol!!!   
  
Mariel4000: thank you for all of your humorous motivation, I keep hoping for another review from you, they always make me laugh.  
  
R_Winner13: I'm so glad to see a Quatre fan review, I must admit, I thought this fic might turn a lot of Quatre fans against me. And he will appear soon too, so look for that!  
  
Adrelliehs: Thank you so much! I really didn't think that I was pulling Dorothy off just right and right now, she's a little OOC, but your comment made me feel a whole lot better!  
  
And last, but sure as the lake of fire not least,  
  
BrenRick: My original inspiration for this story in the first place! ^_~ My HHBL (you'll figure it out eventually!)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters and I don't own the show, Gundam Wing, in which they star. ^_^   
  
Dorothy's heart felt like it was in her throat, throbbing like mad. Her stomach muscles had twisted themselves into numerous tight knots writhing in the confines of her skin. The minimal distance from where Trowa had set her down to the door to their apartment seemed more like miles as she turned from the stairwell and began running. Her mind screamed at her to move faster, yet as fast as her legs went, she felt like she was moving in slow motion. She never entertained the thought of why she was so preoccupied in following Trowa's orders. She never thought about the fact that there could still be something waiting for her in the apartment. She just ran.  
  
When she finally turned into the doorway, she breathed a sigh of relief to see that the vid-phone was still there. As she reached the stand she grabbed at the black book Trowa had made a point of setting next to the phone the day before.  
  
"Une…where is…YES!!" The rushes of adrenaline that were now surging through Dorothy's body made her fingers clumsy but she managed to type in the code into the keypad.  
  
"Pick up, pick up!" she cried at the screen as though it would answer. Suddenly, as if answering her prayers, the screen went blue and then picked up the signal. Lady Une's face appeared inside the screen behind a weaving of static.  
  
"Miss Dorothy!" Lady's soft voice exclaimed. "To what do I owe the-"  
  
"No time for that! Trowa is in trouble!" Dorothy screamed. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red, contrasting with her normally pale complexion. Lady's face turned off screen and Dorothy heard a small click. Then she heard a small gasp followed closely by Lady barking an order on another telephone.  
  
"Yes! You heard me Maxwell! Get back over here to L3 NOW!!" And with that, there was a loud slamming sound and Lady's face reappeared on the screen. Her voice had changed from gentle to that of an angry mother giving a young child an order.  
  
"Dorothy, I want you to lock your doors and windows, turn off all of your light, and don't make any loud sounds, do you understand me? Trowa will be fine, I've got him on my scanner right now and backup is on the way." Her voice returned to its gentle tone. "Thank you Dorothy."  
  
And the screen went blank.  
  
Numbly, Dorothy turned the vid-phone off. She slowly turned around as if in a daze. The adrenaline slowly drained from her limbs, leaving her empty except for Une's orders. Before she knew what had gotten into her, she heaved the stand over onto its side. She didn't care if it was a loud sound. She was sitting here, doing absolutely nothing except protect herself, while Trowa was doing God knew what. She felt like crying and screaming at the same time. It had been so long since she'd thrown a temper tantrum, in girl terms, and now she felt the urge to have one.  
  
But, she reasoned with herself, now was neither the time nor the place. She flew into action, running softly through the kitchenette. She grabbed the door and used all of her self-control and closed it as softly as she could, bolting it twice. She turned to the light switches next to the doorway and flipped them down. Once she was done with her first mission, she threw off her heels and tossed them onto the couch with a soft thump. Then she grabbed a kitchen chair and placed it under the doorknob. She didn't want to take any chances.  
  
Dorothy moved from room to room, closing and locking the windows. As she was about to leave her own room, she caught sight of herself. She was still in her silly dinner dress! As silly as it sounded to her later on, the first thought that came to her looking at her reflection was 'If someone comes through those doors, I won't be able to fight them in a dress!'   
  
Grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, she exited her room, slipping out of her dress as she went. She passed by the bathroom, knowing no windows were in there. She dropped the dress outside the entrance of Trowa's door and wrestled into her sweatpants. She crossed to the window; her upper body still only clad in a bra, and locked the window. 'Thank God Trowa likes blinds on his window,' she thought seriously. She turned away from the window and pulled the t-shirt over her head. Now with her chores done and the house dark, silent, and empty, Dorothy felt free let her mind think of other things then her tasks. This wasn't a good thing for her however, because without a focus, her mind could begin wondering about the horrible things Trowa could have been facing.  
  
Her gaze fell on the bed that was still mused up by her tossing and turnings from the night before. She distantly recalled scolding Trowa for not making it, even though it had been she who'd messed it up. She smiled gently as she remembered how he simply shrugged and asked what was the use, when he was just going to sleep in it tonight anyway…  
  
And that was when the forbidden thought entered her mind. What if he didn't ever come back to sleep in this bed? Suddenly, painfully, Dorothy realized she missed Trowa.  
  
***  
  
Trowa growled as he pushed another stargazing couple out of his way as his quarry took him down yet another winding path in the man-made forest of the park. He raised his gun for the 3rd time that night and fired, the silencer muffling it's sound so as not to cause panic. He knew that he'd hit the boy, and it was the second time he'd hit him too. But the kid just kept running. In the far reaches of his mind, he compared the boy to the likes of Heero and to himself. However, the puddles of blood left in the intruder's path were steadily growing in size and Trowa was gradually gaining on the kid. His mind was dead set on catching the boy, a mindset that he was familiar too after years of training.  
  
The blood led him down a steep side path that was no wider than the space taken up by his own feet. With the help of the moonlight he could just make out the shape of a bridge closing in ahead of him. And he could hear over his own panting breaths the sounds of someone moaning in pain. He knew he was finally closing the last few feet between them.   
  
"Please, I'll go silently," the boy whispered hoarsely through pants. "Please, don't kill me, please…" he begged. His eyes had grown larger and were pleading with him to have mercy. Trowa's softer side, the side he'd struggled to retain and regain, made the pilot inside of him relent. The boy was tall and a little heavier; Trowa could now see why he'd mistaken him originally for a man. On closer inspection, he noted the boy wore an unusually white kerchief around his right arm.  
  
"It's ok," he whispered, his handgun pointed at the boy but his finger was off the trigger and the safety was now back on. "I'm not going to use this unless you try to escape. And I'm a hell of a lot closer now then I was outside the park," he continued as he stepped closer to the hunched over figure. "Now, come on, get up and I'll take you back so we can get that leg looked at," Trowa said gesturing to the boy's left leg, where'd he'd been shot twice. As Trowa got even closer, he could tell that this kid was only about 13 or 14 and he didn't look any different from any other kid he saw on the street. 'But so did you, Heero, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei,' he reminded himself.   
  
"They talked me into it, I swear, I didn't want to," the boy gasped. "Please mister, you gotta believe me!" Trowa paused. Hadn't this kid heard a word he said?   
  
"FREEZE!!" Trowa shouted at the top of his lungs. The kid began sobbing.  
  
"Please mister, you just gotta believe me, I'm just a poor little kid!!" Trowa eased the safety off and placed his finger on the trigger, squeezing firmly. A shot rang out despite the silencer at the boy's head.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I want my mom!!" the boy continued, except now his voice was a metallic grinding that came from inside his stomach. This finally confirmed Trowa's suspicions. This boy was a decoy, only an android programmed to run and then beg to distract him. He crouched down in the middle of the bridge, slowly backing off onto solid ground. As he went, he turned slowly, inspecting the area around him. This wasn't just some ordinary bridge. Someone was waiting for him.   
  
From somewhere behind him, a shot rang out. Trowa jumped in the air and turned a full 180 degrees in the air, his own gun pointed and already shooting at the man who'd shot him. As he landed, he heard the thump of someone heavy fall dead to the earth at the entrance of the bridge. A burning sensation crept along his cheek but he ignored the wound. His emerald eyes were now focused where the man had been and was now lying. He'd also heard a voice from that area.  
  
As he watched and listened, he heard a twig snap from somewhere up above but he ignored it, blaming it on the breeze. His attention refused to be averted from the spot in front of him. With his attention centered on one spot, he didn't see the man jump from the tree overhanging the bridge until he was almost on top of Trowa.   
  
He rolled away and up again onto his feet, his gun posed in the air. However, it did him no good because a roundhouse kick from his hunter sent the gun flying and an uppercut punch forced him to his back. Trowa just had enough time to put up his hands as a black boot came down in the direction of his throat. He held on to the shoe like a lifeline and pushed back with every ounce of muscle he had. He tried to kick the man above him but he felt his legs be pinned down as the man crouched down on top of him. A long, wrinkled face hovered just above his own. Trowa met the man's glare with his own causing the man to go into shrieks of laughter.  
  
"Really think you'll get out of this kid?!" the man howled. Trowa couldn't help but laugh on the inside at how ironic this was; how the tables had been turned. His back instantly felt the cold from the newly fallen snow melting into the back of his turtleneck. The foot was now bearing down on his windpipe despite his attempts to thwart it. Trowa felt defeat slowly fill his mind as oxygen began to leave it. Even if Une had sent a sort of backup mission to help him, there was no possible way it could get there before he passed out. And that wasn't too far off he reminded himself. The third gundam pilot could already feel blackness swooping in to claim him.  
  
As he began to forget where he was and slip into a new realm, his mind wandered aimlessly through memories and regrets. He remembered the first time he'd met his four best friends, that first meeting as they stepped out of their gundams onto the platforms created by their cockpit doors. He remembered how the sun glinted off the same sharp look in each of their eyes and remembered wondering if his own eyes matched theirs. And as his mind's eye turned to each face in the memory, he realized he'd never see them again.  
  
Heero; he'd never see Heero finally admit his feelings towards Relena; he'd never have a deep conversation about life with him again. How he could use one of those right now he thought wistfully. The next face he remembered was Wufei's. For some reason or another, Trowa knew that he'd miss Wufei's serious most. Wufei had a way of keeping him focused and on task. Duo, on the other hand, kept him laughing. With a heavy heart, it occurred to him that he wouldn't get to see the birth of Duo's baby. And finally, Quatre. Quatre would be his number one choice to take care of Dorothy when he was gone…  
  
'Dorothy!' his mind exclaimed. Like a light in a pitch-black night, the thought of Dorothy warded off his unconsciousness. As if he'd been underwater, the sound of the man's laughter returned to him. And his keen ears also caught the sound of numerous twigs snapping from the path above. This and the image of Dorothy with her eyes closed, her lashes picking up snow, her face glowing with pink from the cold of the evening was what gave Trowa the motivation to keep fighting.  
  
With strength that he knew he'd already spent long ago filling his arms, he pushed back the man's foot just far enough to throw him off balance and allow Trowa to scramble out from beneath him. The man hissed angrily and made a lunge for Trowa but was caught from behind by a Preventer Trowa recognized as Lt. Lansing. Duo appeared closely behind from the dark with a large grin on his face.  
  
"Way to be, Trowa my man!" he congratulated as he held out his hand to help Trowa up. Once Trowa was on his feet again, Duo pulled him into a hug. "Thank Dorothy when you see her for me…almost lost you there, buddy," Deathscythe's pilot whispered. Then he quickly pulled away, his smile back in place.  
  
"Come on, I'll take you home. You've been through enough."  
  
***  
  
"You sure it was the new group?" Duo questioned. Trowa looked him in the eye, his emerald eyes intense and dark.  
  
"Positive." And he stepped out of the car. Duo nodded to himself and was about to pull away when he heard a knock on his window. He rolled it down as Trowa leaned over.  
  
"Thanks Duo. For everything." Duo smiled generously and nodded with understanding before he drove off down the street. With Duo gone, Trowa didn't wait a moment longer to bound up the steps to his home. With the energy of a hurricane, he grabbed the doorknob of his apartment and pushed. But it didn't give.  
  
"What the-" He tried again but it was obviously locked. He didn't have time for this! He wanted to see Dorothy…  
  
Making sure his silencer was on; Trowa aimed carefully and shot off the doorknob. He knocked it off completely with a swift kick, catching the offensive piece of metal in his hand. He heard the other doorknob fall and with it gone, the chair also fell away, leaving Trowa free to enter. The place was a mess but that wasn't what caused the horrible sinking feeling in his gut. It was Dorothy's dirty dress lying on the floor.  
  
Images of a dead, mutilated Dorothy filled his mind as he ran to his room only to see Dorothy sleeping peacefully on his bed. The orange light from the streetlamps filtered by his blinds gave the bed an unearthly glow. Trowa, finally relieved of all of his last worries, let all of his aches and pains catch up with him as he walked over to where she lied.  
  
"Dorothy," he whispered softly, just to say her name, as he gathered her into his aching arms. He ran his protesting fingers through her blonde hair, savoring the feeling of her light pressure against his shoulder. He knew he was probably leaving blood all over her from his clothes and from his still bleeding cheek, but he didn't care. He just needed her in his arms; make sure she was safe and real.  
  
Dorothy felt the sudden warmth invade the cold that had descended upon her slumber. Her eyes fluttered lightly before opening completely to a most wonderful sight; Trowa's dark eyes shining back into hers.   
  
"Trowa?" she whispered, hoping that he wasn't a spirit or a dream.  
  
"It's me, I'm here," he whispered back. He looked a mess, his lip was broken and his cheek had a long gash cutting from his temple to the middle of his cheek. But he looked like some sort of fallen angel, representing everything forbidden and yet at the same time, everything gentle. It was hard to believe that the day's events had brought them this close when just that morning she couldn't stand being in the same room with him without screaming.  
  
But her thoughts were quickly forgotten as another more important issue confronted itself.  
  
"Trowa, follow me," she said quietly, standing and leading him to the bathroom. As she entered, still blissfully aware that Trowa was holding her hand, she grabbed the first aid kit she'd bought that day while grocery shopping. She sat down on the bathtub's edge and gestured for him to sit down on the toilet seat while she unwrapped the kit.   
  
Trowa watched her as she undid the plastic covering of the kit, following her every movement. He never felt more warmth in his life as when he held her next to him and even now, when he was only a foot away from her, he felt her absence.   
  
Dorothy pulled out a gauze pad and tape and set them next to the small bottle of rubbing alcohol. With one last final snatch at a group of cotton balls, Dorothy prepared herself to play doctor. She gave Trowa a smile as she gently dabbed at his gash with the alcohol. Trowa hissed lightly as a strong stinging sensation crawled its way up his face yet he smiled back at Dorothy.  
  
"Big tough boy," Dorothy whispered with a light giggle. Trowa chuckled along with her and by the time she had completely cleaned his wound, he'd forgotten that he'd even had it in the first place.   
  
As she made the finishing touches to his make-do bandage, his eyes once again sobered and focused in on her. The way her eyes were slightly slanted, like she was a European and Egyptian mix of a princess. His eyes traveled along her whole body frame and he smiled at her outfit. She looked ready to go to a gym class; quite the change from the sex goddess that had been sitting on his table not 4 hours earlier. Had it really been only 4 hours he thought. That couldn't be right, it had seemed-  
  
His eyes fell upon where her sweatpants had ridden up above the knee. A nasty bruise was threatening to appear and caked blood was flaking off from the skin.  
  
"What's that?" he asked gently, his hands cupping her knee. Dorothy looked down and remembered that she'd skinned her knee while running to the apartment.  
  
"Just a scrape, that's all," she whispered. Trowa shook his head and grabbed a washcloth from the cupboard and wetted it down.   
  
"Hold still, my turn to be doctor," Trowa said with a laugh as he began to wash off the blood. He kept looking from her knee to her face, making sure that he didn't hurt her. However, she just watched him do his work with a gentle smile. He cleaned her wound with the same tenderness she'd washed his with and bandaged it with a super band-aid.   
  
And finally, just to make sure that it was all better, Trowa leaned down and kissed the wound just above the band-aid. Dorothy's eyebrow's shot up in surprise and she looked at him with disbelief. However, he only returned the smile as he placed her knee down again and got up. He had almost made his way out of the bathroom when Dorothy grabbed his arm and spun him around, wrapping her arms around his neck. She clung to him like a child, refusing to let go of him. But Trowa never wanted to let her let go of him; he wanted to stay like this forever. One of his arms snaked its way around her waist and the other lifted her face to meet his.   
  
It was like the planets had finally aligned themselves for this moment to happen. Her body was pressed against his just so and their faces met like puzzle pieces. His lips met hers in a blinding moment of passion. She tasted like dreams and he tasted like a sunset and everything was perfect in their life. Screw the goddamn faction on earth, to hell with their jobs as Preventer and budding politician. None of that mattered. Only their lips meeting together at that moment.  
  
When they finally broke apart, panting from lack of breath, Trowa placed the hand that'd been holding her chin over her head and pulled her down into the crook of his neck. Then he told her to hold on tight and he picked her up and carried her to his room where they fell asleep in each other's arms and their simple presence.  
  
Snow wasn't falling on them, the stars weren't twinkling. Their light wasn't moonlight, but instead light from an orange streetlight. But both agreed that the kiss they shared just outside their bathroom doorway was the most romantic kiss they'd ever had.  
  
Please R/R!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	7. Brewing Trouble & Guitar Lessons

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Seven: Brewing Trouble and Guitar Lessons  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story nor do I own Gundam Wing. But I am getting there, so step aside people.  
  
I was worried that I wasn't updating fast enough, but apparently, I was doing ok. However, this one took me awhile because I've been busy with school activities and what not. But hey! I've got EIGHT reviews! Yeah!!! Now, on to the story!  
  
  
  
Trowa Barton could not for the life of him remember a time in his whole life that he looked forward as much as he did then in the gloom of awakening to actually opening his eyes. Although his whole body protested, particularly his legs, Trowa sat up in his bed. His stark white sheets were wrapped around his legs but they were cool against his skin. He faintly remembered changing out his pants and turtleneck into a pair of pajama pants in the middle of the night. He smiled at the memory, ignoring his stinging lip. Dorothy wouldn't let him get out of bed, even though she was fast asleep. He had to wiggle out of her grasp before she unconsciously conceded rolled away only to be pulled back into his chest once he'd gotten back in bed.   
  
He looked down at Dorothy, who'd know draped a slender white arm around his middle and had laid her head on his lower stomach. He lifted his hand and stroked her neck and back. He raised an eyebrow as goose bumps began to leave their footsteps along her skin as she shivered in her sleep. His touch lightened to a feather's breath and the shivers increased and intensified. He didn't realize that his ministrations had woken her up until she gave a small moan and looked up at him with a smile.  
  
Her long blonde hair had fallen into her eyes but it didn't hide the smile on her face or the one shining in the gray orbs that stared back up at him. He returned her smile graciously before looking away at his alarm clock. His happiness was dampened when he realized that his vacation from work was now officially over and he had to go back to work today. And even if he didn't have to go back, Une would have wanted him to come in and write an official report on the incident from last night. It was going to be a hard one, explaining why he just decided to chase that android down. It wasn't like he knew for sure that the guy had done anything wrong, it was just intuition from years of seeing wrong doers run. That android simulated a criminal's run perfectly.  
  
"Dorothy, I have to go to work. You gonna be all right here by yourself?" he questioned softly, looking down at her. She rolled her eyes and pinched the side of his stomach.  
  
"I'm a big girl Trowa, I can take care of myself," she replied with a mischievous grin. Trowa nodded, his smile still in place. 'But do I want you to take care of yourself?' he asked himself, his protective instincts raging. However, he shrugged them off and tightened his hold before letting go and stepping out of bed. He leaned down and pinched Dorothy's cheek in return for her pinch before heading off to the bathroom for a shower. He knew without even looking that by the time he'd left the bedroom, she was fast asleep again.  
  
As he passed the mirror on his way to the shower he snatched a glimpse of himself. 'Jesus,' he groaned silently. His lip was swollen and a nasty blue and black bruise had popped up during the night on the lower left side of his face. He pulled the bandage from his face, and inspected the cut along his cheek. He'd probably have to have Sally Po check it out once he'd gotten to the office. It looked deep enough to cause a scar at least. He sighed loudly as he began to undress for his shower. (Calm down ladies, calm down.)  
  
His whole body gave a collective sigh of relief as the hot water began to run down his body. He pushed his long bangs out of his face as he reached for a bottle of shampoo. Without looking at the bottle, he poured some of the goop onto his hair and starting rubbing it in. He moved on to washing his body, not paying any attention to his soapy bangs falling slowly from where he'd brushed them until one large clump fell up against his nose and he caught a whiff of his hair. A sickeningly sweet smell filled his nostrils, a sickeningly sweet…girly smell.  
  
His eyes now impaired by the foamy mess, he groped along the side of the shower for the bottle of shampoo while he shook his head beneath the direct water spray. Once he'd grabbed the silly bottle he held it up to his eyes still stinging from shampoo.  
  
"Freesia Fantasy," he read from the label slowly. "Of course, Freesia Fantasy, how silly of me," he muttered low in his throat.   
  
Finishing up, he stepped out of the shower with a refreshed feeling running wildly through his veins. He moved to the sink to make a grab for his uniform when he realized that it wasn't there. That was when he remembered that he'd left it in his room.  
  
***  
  
Dorothy sighed happily as she soaked in the smell of Trowa. Now that she was free to enjoy it without coming up with silly schemes to get close to him, she took full advantage of her newfound obsession. She opened her eyes a crack and scanned the room. She'd fallen asleep again but had awoken with a start when her subconscious reminded her that Trowa would soon be leaving for the day. And she didn't want him to leave without her seeing him.  
  
She sat up slowly, grinding the sleep out of her eyes. She gave them another rub when she thought she saw a peach flash run by the doorway of the room. Her heart gave a leap at the thought of another intruder inside the apartment with Trowa still in his shower until it occurred to her that she could no longer hear the water running. She couldn't help but smile mischievously as she snuck back under the covers, waiting to surprise Trowa royally.  
  
However, it was she who was in for a surprise as Trowa entered the bathroom cautiously with only a small pink towel around his waist. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight before her. Although she'd woken up lying against that chest, she hadn't gotten a good look at it, since she'd been half asleep yet. But now, she was sure as hell wide-awake!   
  
He wasn't buff, but he was perfect; wide shoulders tapered off to a flat waist with some mighty fine chiseling in between to give Dorothy plenty to think about for the rest of the day. However, her fantasies were cut short as he pulled a white t-shirt over his head followed by his tan button up work shirt. 'Damn clothes,' she hissed inside of her head. Her eyes were trained on him now as an evil idea came to her.  
  
"Morning Trowa," she chimed loudly, throwing the sheets off of where she was hiding. Trowa jumped a good foot in the air and turned to face her, his little towel nearly falling off. She grinned brilliantly back at him as his emerald eyes glared down at her.  
  
"You little-" he began but was cut short as he felt his towel slip a little. Reaching down, he hauled the towel up again so that it would provide some protection from the little slip of a demon sitting on his bed. Dorothy went into a fit of giggles as she watched his facial expressions turn from mild anger to slight fear to major embarrassment.   
  
With a quiet growl, Trowa grabbed his wintertime Preventer pants and stalked out of the room. That left a still laughing but thoroughly satisfied Dorothy Catalonia.  
  
Once Trowa had changed into his uniform and had recovered from his shock, he exited the bathroom and went to the kitchenette to get some breakfast. The place was still a mess. Chairs were knocked askew, a long tear had been ripped into the backside of their couch, and pieces of their coffee table could be found scattered along the floor of the apartment. However, these were all impersonal acts of vandalism done by the android. Yet something caught his eyes as he opened the refrigerator. Beyond it's white door he could see the vid-phone stand had been knocked over. This was strange since a vid-phone could be considered a personal item. He noted to himself to ask Dorothy about it later.  
  
And thinking of the she-devil herself, she'd stepped out of her room wearing a loose pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He vaguely remembered her telling him that she was on her own vacation from being a new chairperson on the board of directors at the Romefellar Foundation while they moved things into the apartment 3 days ago.   
  
"Sorry about that, *ahem* incident," she said with a little giggle as she reached past him for the jug of orange juice. He grinned evilly as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up against him, the jug falling to the floor completely forgotten.  
  
"I don't know, maybe I shouldn't forgive you," he whispered, gently shoving her against the now closed refrigerator. Dorothy gave him a mock glare. He slipped his hand behind her head, his wet hair brushing against her cheek. She glared up at him with a smile shining in her eyes as she wrapped her own hands behind his neck.  
  
"Go ahead, don't forgive me," she replied seductively, her smile just daring him not to. He gave in and leaned in for a kiss. However, Dorothy's hand stopped him.  
  
"You have to go to work now," she said with a raised eyebrow. Trowa stole a glance at the clock hanging above them. She was right, it was almost 7 and he was going to be late if he didn't get out the door. But he looked back at her with a shrug.  
  
"Une and the rest can wait," he whispered as he pushed his lips against hers, trying for another earth rocking kiss like the one from the night before. And even though it was hurried, and Dorothy had to push him out the door to finally unlock their lips, it was just as wonderful.   
  
Dorothy smiled as she leaned against the doorway of their apartment, watching Trowa descend the stairs. She turned back inside and was about to close the door when a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her against a strong chest and a set of warm lips.   
  
Trowa couldn't help but come back for more as his lips moved in a synchronized dance. Dorothy laughed against his cheek as he dotted kisses on her chin and up her cheek to her forehead, giving her one last peck before she pushed him away again with a shy giggle.   
  
"I'd better go," he said with a smile as Dorothy rolled her eyes at their foolish behavior.  
  
"Yes, you'd better, or you'll have Une riding you all day," she replied. Trowa laughed and turned one final time with a wave as he slid down the banister of the stairs. "You idiot!" Dorothy screamed in the hallway, causing Trowa only to laugh louder as he jumped the last few steps onto the landing, blew her a kiss, and disappeared from view.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Trowa soon found himself wishing that the rest of his day would go back to being as good as it had been that morning. He groaned audibly as he tried to type his report for Dominatrix Une as he'd dubbed her for the day. The words of his screen only ended up shaping themselves into erotic stories reflecting his thoughts on Dorothy. He grinned at the thought of her shocked look before he descended on her lips right before their last kiss. His eyes went out of focus as his mind wandered to other random moments with Dorothy.  
  
"I know the feeling," said a deep voice behind him. Trowa turned to see Heero Yuy standing in the doorway of his office.  
  
"What?" he asked dumbly, his gaze going back into focus.  
  
"I know how you feel, Trowa," Heero explained. "Just don't let the girl get to you too much." Trowa thought he saw a trace of a smile on Heero's lips before the man turned away. "Une wants that report in 5 minutes by the way," Yuy threw over his shoulder as he walked away. Trowa's eyes widened and he began typing furiously on his computer. He hadn't realized he'd been zoning out for so long.  
  
" 'Once the perpetrator had been apprehended, Capt. Maxwell and I left the operation in the hands of Lt. Lansing. For further information on the incident…' What next, what to put next?!" he groaned exasperatedly, placing his head in his hands.  
  
"Barton!" Une's voice barked over his office intercom. "I want that report now!"  
  
Trowa hurriedly finished, writing down the first thing that came to mind, printed it, and then bolted to his boss's office. Slowing down once he reached it, he straightened his collar and took a deep breath before knocking loudly.  
  
"Enter," came Une's voice. Trowa pushed open the heavy wooden door to come face to face with Heero, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei standing around Une's desk. Sensing a briefing hanging in the air, he set the report in her inbox and turned to leave. But Wufei caught his wrist before he could get out the door. 'Caught,' he groaned in his mind.  
  
"Barton, sit, all of you sit. We need to discuss further operations concerning this New Faction, particularly after last night," Une ordered, her voice slightly more gentle than what she'd used to get Trowa out of his daze. She gestured to the five red plush armchairs set in a semicircle in front of her desk. Wufei let go of Trowa's wrist and all five of the pilots sat down solemnly, even Duo.  
  
"Now, all of you who were not involved in last night's take down of the New Faction's second in command," she paused when Trowa's eyes widened. "Yes, that's right Barton. The man that almost killed you last night after you disobeyed Preventer rules was second in command of the New Faction," she said grudgingly. Duo slapped him on the back with a smile and a wink.  
  
"As I said, those of you not involved have been briefed on the matter. I want your views on what course of action should be taken next." Trowa looked down at the floor. No one immediately answered. "Well?" she probed with an edge to her voice.  
  
"Has anyone interrogated the man?" Wufei asked, his eyes closed as if in meditation.  
  
"Yes, he only let slip his position and that the faction doesn't have a name. But we're still working on him," answered Heero. Duo nodded.  
  
"Yeah, the android didn't give up much either. They obviously didn't let it in on any of their planning so his memory cards are pretty much useless but we're still looking them over just in case," Duo said grimly. There were dark circles under his eyes and Trowa realized he probably had been at the Headquarters all night. He made a silent vow to make Duo go home at night even if he argued. He still had his pregnant fiancé waiting for him.  
  
"Well, anything else?" Une asked, scanning Trowa and Quatre, the two being the only ones who hadn't spoken yet. Quatre shifted in his seat, evidence that he had something to say.  
  
"Vice Foreign Minister Dorlian has asked me to join her on Earth, perhaps to find a peaceful solution to this," he paused searching for the right word. He looked up at Une, his aquamarine eyes intense. "For this problem," he finished. Une nodded, slight surprise showing on her face at Quatre's bravery to bring up Vice Foreign Minister Dorlian. Although Relena was still considered a good friend, the Preventers tried to avoid contact with her in work situations due to her connections to the Romefellar Foundation, an organization that did not originally approve of the Preventer's creation and the way they ran certain things. Quatre took the group's silence as a sign to continue.  
  
"We've also brainstormed via vid-phone and have suggested to the Board of Directors at the Inter-Colonial and Earth Transit Organization that all transportation, public or private, be cut off between Earth and the colonies. We already know that the New Faction is centered on Earth, yet half of their attacks have been here amongst the colonies. And catching the man second in command here on the colonies PROVES that they aren't just on Earth. They're traveling and by isolating both Earth and the colonies, we can track them down easier," Quatre explained. Three out of the remaining four gundam pilots nodded in agreement but Heero growled, shaking his head.  
  
"So, you two want to severe the cord that keeps the colonies alive is what you're saying. The colonies only have so much food for each person for this sort of thing," Heero argued. Quatre shook his head back.  
  
"It will only be for so long Heero. And the colonies on Mars have already said that they can provide food from their new farms," Quatre reasoned.  
  
"No! If you allow transportation between the colonies AND Mars then you'll be contrasting your own plan and creating a new venue for the Faction!" Heero cried. Wufei held up a slender hand.  
  
"We'll have more Preventers on Mars then we do now. Noin has already asked us for more anyway," he said calmly. Heero shook his head, calming down slightly.  
  
"No, we don't have enough Preventers to set up sufficient forces on Earth, here in the colonies, and Mars!" Trowa took a long look at Heero's face. Behind the Prussian blue eyes, there was more than just simple disagreement with the plan. Relena would be on Earth while Heero knew that he'd probably be stuck being the leader of the Preventer search here in the colonies.  
  
"And I suppose you never thought that the people on Earth could still communicate with their companions here in the colonies," Heero added. Quatre looked down at the floor.  
  
"That's why we've also suggested to the Galactic Broadcast Company to cut off communication as well between Earth and the colonies. Heero threw his hands up in the air and looked away.  
  
"Heero," Trowa ventured quietly, "If we leave the 30 Preventer officers on Earth and add to them a force of 20 of ours, there'll still be 25 for the colonies here and 33 for on Mars which will be added to their original 15, including Noin," he added, nodding to Wufei. Heero thought about it and then smirked, realizing what Trowa was really planning. A silent understanding ran through all of the occupants of the room for except Duo, who was still doing the math in his head.  
  
"Well then, I know you've all had a trying night, so I give you my leave to go home and rest. I don't expect much work from you on a day this anyway, what with so much to worry over. Quatre, I also give you my permission to go to Earth, as a delegate of the Preventers," she said, not looking at any of them but at her desk. "It's about time we repair relations with the Romefellar Foundation anyhow," she muttered. The five nodded in a unified anti-synchronization and walked out, going their own ways. Duo however, followed Trowa into his office.  
  
"Trowa, I know I'm not the best mathematician, but if we have 78 leaving the headquarters here, doesn't that leave 5 extra?" Duo asked with his arms crossed. Trowa nodded silently, picking up some of the folders that had been left in his inbox. "May I ask WHY 5 people will be left behind here at headquarters?" Duo continued. 'Now wonder he's the mechanical interrogator, he never stops with the questions,' Trowa reminded himself. He turned to face the braided man.  
  
"Technically, there'll only be 3 left behind, you, Wufei, and I. Quatre will be going to Earth and I'm going to talk Une into letting Heero go as well. As a bodyguard for Ms. Dorlian of course," he said with a small smile. Duo nodded, catching on.   
  
"But why did you decide to have us three stay?" he probed further.   
  
"We need to stay behind to protect Lady Une," Trowa said bluntly. "She may be a strong woman, but there's more strength in numbers."  
  
"But why us three?"  
  
"We're the most competent."  
  
"Trowa, just cuz we're gundam pilots doesn't mean-" Duo started but Trowa cut him off.  
  
"Duo, when is Hilde due?" Duo stopped and shut his mouth, surprised.  
  
"In February, why?" he answered automatically.  
  
"Do you think we'll be done searching for these idiots by then?" Trowa asked with a raised eyebrow. Duo was about to say something but decided against it, and only grinned in return. It always seemed that Trowa had an answer to everything.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Before leaving the office, Trowa stopped in by Sally and had her check out his cut as he'd planned to do in the morning. She told him he wouldn't need stitches and that he should consider himself lucky that it wasn't any deeper. Otherwise it would have left a huge scar on his beautiful face, she'd joked.  
  
Trowa grinned happily as his mind once again drifted to Dorothy, waiting for him at home. He'd stopped thinking about her once he'd been confronted with the New Faction issue but now that he was on his way home, his mind felt free to wander. As he cut through the ill fated park that could have been the site of his death, he only thought of Dorothy and did not dwell on the wild goose chase that he'd fallen for here.  
  
As his apartment came into view, he broke into a light run, wanting to get home as fast as he could. His fuel was Dorothy.  
  
He entered his apartment door and took the stairs two, sometimes three at a time, jumping over railings at each landing. He laughed to himself as he was reminded that almost every time he traversed these steps he was running.   
  
Once he'd finally reached his floor, he slowed his pace so as not to alarm Dorothy. But he couldn't help jogging to the door and unlocking it. He opened the door, half expecting Dorothy to be waiting for him with only a black leather and lace outfit on. However, his day long fantasies were thoroughly disappointed to find that Dorothy wasn't in the kitchenette or living room   
  
She'd obviously been busy cleaning and decorating some more, the house was spotless and there were new knick-knacks that hadn't been there before. However, he quickly forgot these things when he heard the familiar strumming of his guitar coming from Dorothy's room. Smiling mischievously, he decided to get a little payback for earlier that day. Using his former training to his advantage, he snuck softly from the doorway to the entrance of her room, listening to her fumble with the strings of his guitar. He stifled a laugh as she played a horrible sounding C major.  
  
"BOO!" he cried loudly, jumping into the room. Dorothy's head snapped up and she jumped off her bed a good two feet in the air, a scream gracing her lips. Trowa grasped his stomach as he laughed loudly at her reaction as she threw one of his guitar books at his head. Preoccupied with burning the image of her fright into his mind, he wasn't able to dodge the book. It hit him square in the jaw and he instantly stopped laughing and glared at her, his laughter now only held in his eyes.   
  
Dorothy laughed at his expression, a mixture of fake anger and genuine happiness. However, her own laughter ceased as he pounced on her, the guitar falling away. They rolled back onto the bed, Trowa tickling her mercilessly as Dorothy tried in vain to escape.   
  
"Geroff me you fool!" she cried through her laughter, causing her lover only to laugh louder as he explored new places to tickle. She pushed him back and sat up but that left her back vulnerable to his finger tips. He ran them up her spine, causing her to gasp in surprise. A surge of heat, followed closely be a numbingly cool pleasure flowed downwards through her body. Trowa stopped, watching her face.  
  
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, concern lacing his words. Dorothy's lips were still in an O but she turned to him and managed to shake her head no. Trowa smiled lightly at her odd response to a tickle.  
  
"Are you ok?" he questioned further. Dorothy nodded, her face slowly returning to normal. Trowa shook his head and decided that it might be better not to tickle her anymore. He turned away in a slightly awkward silence before picking up his guitar from where it had fallen from her hands.   
  
"Trying to play?" he asked with a smile. Dorothy nodded, returning the smile but not meeting his eyes.   
  
"I couldn't get the hang of it, I've been trying nearly all day. But it doesn't sound right to me," she said, picking at some invisible lint on her bed. Trowa looked down at the guitar and strummed it gently.  
  
"Well, there's the problem, you see this bigger string here," he said pointing to the biggest string on the guitar. Dorothy nodded, keeping her eyes only on the guitar. "That one's too tight," he said, loosening the string. Dorothy nodded again.  
  
"I tightened it cuz it didn't sound right to me. But I can never really tell," she said, her voice oddly soft. Trowa tilted his head but ignored it again, focusing on what she said.  
  
"Well, it doesn't really matter how the guitar sounds compared to other guitars. As long as the strings are in tune with each other, then the guitar will sound just as beautiful as any other," Trowa told her. Dorothy looked confused so he searched his mind for some sort of demonstration.  
  
"Lie down," he whispered. Dorothy's eyes widened suddenly as she looked up at him in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she tried to comprehend what he'd just said.  
  
"What?" she finally managed.   
  
"Lie down, I'm going to show you how to tell," he said. Dorothy, wary but trusting, lied back down and allowed Trowa to hover over her while placing the guitar in her hands. "Now just hold it in place and feel," he whispered, his voice now hoarse as he realized just how intimate their position was. He pushed the guitar down her torso, making sure that it was directly above her stomach.  
  
He picked up the smallest string on the guitar and plucked it, sending a high tone throughout the room. However, it as it echoed in the body of the guitar it sent sharp prickles through Dorothy's lower tummy. She gazed up at Trowa, intent upon his work, while the ache deep inside her increased.   
  
Trowa moved down the scale, causing the ache inside of her to grow as he went lower. When he reached the final string, his eyes locked with Dorothy. As he plucked the final string, it came to him just what the deep rumblings of the guitar were stirring within her. As final evidence, Dorothy moaned softly as the deepest pitch made her stomach do summersaults within her. Trowa smiled lightly as he reached up the finger board to the tuning keys and slowly loosened the biggest string. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he plucked the string, sending an even stronger pitch through her body. The large sweater she wore to block out the apartments drafts did nothing to protect her from Trowa's playing.  
  
Her gray eyes looked up into Trowa's green ones. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to take much more before he pushed her over her limit. Trowa looked down at her and knew without any words being said what Dorothy was thinking. He nodded slightly as he pulled the guitar from her hands and lied down beside her, his arms simply draped across her stomach.  
  
"Never knew a guitar could be so sexy," she whispered as she snuggled down deep into his arms, leaving Trowa with a smile.  
  
  
  
Well, I have a meeting to go to so I have to end it here, which is pretty much where I planned to end it anyway. Lol.  
  
Sorry it took so long. Hope you like it!  
  
Please R/R!! MadameHotaru.of.87 


	8. Snow, Among Other Things

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Eight: Snow, Among Other Things…  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Trowa or Gundam Wing. (I do own…well, for his sake, we won't go into that…^_~)  
  
I'm really sorry that I haven't updated this story in so long, but I hope that I can make up for it!! I've got two chapters coming up in a row! (So you all won't hurt me, right?)  
  
This chapter's gonna develop on the various spectrums of fun of Trowa and Dorothy's relationship. Chapter Nine will focus a little more on the upcoming angst. This chapter may seem OOC, but when you in love…*sigh* you do crazy things.  
  
  
  
Vid-phones were annoying, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. This train of thought entered both brain stations of our two heroes as they lay curled in the afternoon sunshine on Dorothy's bed. The guitar lay forgotten next to the bed and gathered the dust that danced in the air. Icicles could be seen from the window to their left and even the steady drip of water from the ice seemed to quicken with annoyance as the continuous shrill of the vid-phone cracked the comfortable silence the two had fallen into.  
  
Dorothy shifted against Trowa's arm and looked up at him, meeting the warm skin covering the steel of his set jawbone. She sighed softly as she snuggled into the warmth that greeted her. Trowa's green eyes moved slowly down to her near white blonde hair and a small smile lit his face.   
  
"Should I get it or do you want to?" Dorothy whispered into his neck. He hid the shivers that shot through his body at the electrifying feel of her warm breath coming in spurts as she spoke. He forgot what she said and shifted himself so he was lying on his side looking down at her.   
  
"Trowa-" she began but he cut her off with a kiss to the side of her mouth. It was just a soft brush, barely there but it caught her off guard. In the distance, the two heard the phone stop ringing as the answering machine picked up the line and received the message of whoever had dared to interrupt their cuddling.  
  
Dorothy's face lifted into a soft smile as her hand lifted up to wrap itself into Trowa's hair. However, her eyes danced with mischief as her lithe fingers tightened. With a sharp tug, she countered Trowa's surprise with one of her own. The one green eye visible to her shot open and he pulled away with a small cry. While soothing the back of his neck with one hand, Trowa glared down at his roommate. In "fear", she burst into giggles.  
  
"TROWA!!! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!!!" screamed a very familiar voice. Trowa's mind automatically shifted from plans to avenge his poor hair to gundam pilot alertness. He rolled away from Dorothy and bolted for the vid-phone. Skidding to a stop in his Hanes socks (Trowa wears Hanes, don't argue with me!) he pressed the button only to be greeted by Duo's grinning face.  
  
"I knew you'd pick up if I screamed," he said happily. His grin quickly disappeared as Hilde smacked him over the head.  
  
"Yeah, like a girl!" she said moodily. Duo stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to Trowa.  
  
"So what were you doing that was more important than me calling, hmm?" the Deathsycthe pilot asked suggestively. Trowa gaped for a good nanosecond before composing himself with a stoic face.   
  
"What did you call for, Duo?" Trowa asked, his voice low and serious. He mentally rolled his eyes as he heard Dorothy giggle behind him. Duo's face fell but he shrugged it off.  
  
"Well, the thing is, you know how Quatre is leaving for Earth, correct?" Trowa nodded. "Well, Hilde and me thought it be cool if we threw him a little leaving party but we don't want it at a restaurant, seeing as it would pose a very tempting terrorist target." Trowa was confused.  
  
"So why call me?"  
  
"We can't have it at Heero's, too small. Same for Sally, Wufei, and us, 'specially with all the new baby stuff. And Relena's is just too big for such a small affair," Duo said, leading up slowly to his big question. Trowa was beginning to catch on and he growled low in his throat.   
  
"Why not Quatre's?" he asked, searching for a place to have the silly part other than his. Duo shook his head vigorously.  
  
"You can't have a party for someone at said someone's house!"   
  
"Why not? Wasn't Hilde's baby shower at your house?" Trowa reasoned. He opened his mouth again to continue his debate but Hilde burst into tears behind Duo.   
  
"Please, don't talk about babies," Duo whispered into the screen. Trowa was about to ask why not when Hilde turned on Duo, her face red and her teeth bared in anger, tears still running down her cheeks.  
  
"YOU DON'T CARE FOR THIS BABY OR ME!!!" she screamed. A large sweat drop formed on the side of Trowa's temple.   
  
"Hilde, you know that's not-"  
  
"YOU'RE NEVER TOUCHING ME AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR!?!?!?!" she cried, her arms flailing. Dorothy rushed up behind Trowa, shoving him out of the way.  
  
"What did you do to her?!" she demanded quietly of Trowa, who could only shrug in true male clulessness. "Hilde, honey, what's wrong?" she asked soothingly.  
  
Hilde violently shoved poor Duo (slightly more informed than Trowa) off screen and looked up at Dorothy with large, wet eyes.  
  
"He-*sob*-doesn't-*sob*-care-*sob*-about me-*sob*-and all the-*SNIFF*-pain I'm-*sob*-going through-*choke* *sob*." Dorothy nodded understandably before turning to Trowa and mouthing 'Pregnancy Hormones' at him. Trowa's mouth widened in a large O and he nodded, putting two and two together.  
  
"Hilde, don't worry about Duo, he's just an idiot and he'll come around eventually," Dorothy said, loud enough for Duo to hear.  
  
"HEY!!" The braided man appeared again and through her sobs, Hilde turned to him and punched him hard in the jaw. The pilot disappeared yet again from the screen. Trowa winced before reasoning that at least she hadn't kicked him anywhere. But then again, his other half debated, if she HAD kicked him, they wouldn't have to deal with any more pregnancy hormones…  
  
***  
  
Eventually, Dorothy had calmed Hilde down, who ended up breaking into more tears once she'd seen the large bruise she'd left on her boyfriend's face. The vid-phone discussion ended with Trowa and Dorothy accepting the offer to host a Quatre's going away/Christmas party and Hilde cuddling Duo, who was accepting her tear-soaked apologies more than happily.  
  
Dorothy turned to Trowa, who had settled himself on the counter awaiting his coffee. Even though it was nearing 2:00 in the afternoon, the vid-phone conversation had left him with an immense need for something to settle his nerves. 'And since Dorothy was still on the phone, we had to settle for coffee!' the back end of his mind thought dejectedly.   
  
"After all that, I think it's a very good idea not to have children," she said tiredly as she reached past him for her container of tea. Trowa smirked down at her as he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him.  
  
"Oh come now, it wouldn't be all that bad, now would it?" he asked devilishly. Dorothy returned the smirk before throwing her head back.  
  
"TROWA!!! I HATE YOU, YOU NEVER CARED FOR ME!!!!" she screamed, her eyes locked with his, as if asking to argue with her. Trowa's eyes widened and he quickly let go and backed away from her, hitting his head on the cupboard.  
  
"OOF!" He let out a groan and Dorothy quickly stopped her rampaging.  
  
"Trowa! Are you alright?" she asked, her arms wrapping around him and pulling his head down into her chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Mime moke, Morothy," came the muffled reply. Trowa's warm breath against her breasts brought her back to attention and she quickly dropped her arms and pulled away, causing Trowa to drop from the counter to the floor without his usual grace.  
  
"Ugh…"  
  
"Well! You deserved it, you hentai!!!" she cried. Trowa pulled himself up, swaying slightly. He pointed an unsteady finger at her.  
  
"You're the one who pulled me down towards them…." he gestured wildly towards her breasts, "things!" he finished. Dorothy's mouth opened wide before she set her jaw and narrowed her eyes.  
  
"How-dare-you!" she cried. She turned away from him and stomped away to her room. Trowa swayed sharply to the right and then to the left before he fell forward onto the floor. 'Better to lay low anyway buddy,' he reasoned with a small groan.  
  
  
  
When Dorothy finally decided to come out of her room, she found Trowa sitting at the kitchenette table, a large mug of coffee steaming next to him and the colony's newspaper laying in front of him. He covertly looked up at her through his hair and caught her looking at him. He picked up his head and met her stare. But she turned away from him on her heel and stomped into the bathroom.  
  
Trowa sighed and turned back to his paper. Over the whistling of the teapot, he heard the shower turn on. He reached behind him and turned off the stove before turning back to the funny section of paper. Now just wasn't the time to be reading about the many mini-dramas taking place in the colonies. After reading the odd comic strip about a monkey walking into a bar with a polar bear and getting into a fight with a koala over an ostrich, Trowa decided to make the tea he'd been planning to get for Dorothy as a peace offering. He heard the shower turn off and the rustlings of the curtain. He poured the tea into a mug he'd noticed Dorothy had been particularly fond of and made his way to the doorway of the bathroom.  
  
"Look, Trowa, I'm-" Dorothy stopped short. She'd opened the door expecting Trowa to still be sitting at the table. She hadn't expected him to be standing at the doorway at the bathroom looking at her with those irresistible eyes. Her resolution to be the first to apologize melted away as he offered her favorite mug full of steaming Chai tea to her. She grinned and took the mug gratefully, allowing him to pull her into a deep embrace.  
  
"You were saying," he whispered into her damp, disheveled hair, breathing in the scent of that cursed yet wonderful Freesia Fantasy. Dorothy moved her head so she was looking up at him.  
  
"I'm sorry." She smiled up at him brilliantly.  
  
"Anything else?" he asked suggestively, his eyebrows rising. Dorothy glared at him playfully.  
  
"Why yes, actually, there is something else."  
  
"And that is?" he asked, taking the bait.  
  
"Would you like to go shopping with me?"  
  
If Trowa was the type to sweat drop and faint, he'd have done so now. However, he would only allow himself to sweat drop occasionally and this wasn't a good enough occasion. He did let his mouth hang open though and that would be a start. Dorothy giggled lightly, batting at his hair and pulling away from him. She set down her mug on the table and sat down, picking up the newspaper.  
  
"How come the koala didn't win?" she demanded of the newspaper, pounding the table. NOW it was a good enough occasion. Trowa sweat dropped.  
  
***  
  
Evergreen orbs followed closely each move of a certain blonde woman as she recklessly charged through the crowds around them. Brightly colored shopping bags created a small buffer zone around the woman as she moved from store to store. They had done most of their shopping at large chain discount stores, like K-Mart (yeah, K-Mart is still alive and kickin' in the future, even if Martha Stewart isn't), and now had moved on to the downtown area for specifics. He turned around to check on his car. 'Not blown up or on blocks, that's a good sign,' his mind conceded as he turned back to Dorothy. He caught sight of her hair disappearing into a doorway of a dim looking shop. His pace quickened and he shoved a few Christmas shoppers out of his way to get inside the shop.  
  
"How do women get OUT of these crowds?" he asked himself in a mutter as he pushed open the door. It was of purely Christmas décor and a heavy scent of pine and cinnamon clung to every air molecule. The small store seemed even smaller with the large number of shelves bunched close together and the overflowing knick-knacks crowding around the bases of the shelves.  
  
Dorothy was weaving in and out of the shelves, squealing in delight when she found something she desperately needed for the apartment. Trowa, having no particular interest in Santa's or snowmen, decided to follow Dorothy instead of risk losing his sanity walking about on his own.   
  
"Here, hold these." came Dorothy's voice as she shoved 5 matching Santa boxes into his arms.  
  
"Not to sound critical, but what are these for exactly?" Trowa asked, inspecting the Santa's. Dorothy sighed, as if he were a child asking a stupid question.  
  
"To decorate that large window pane in the living room, I have nothing to make it Christmas-y," she explained slowly. Trowa looked down at the Santa's, still perplexed but satisfied enough to take her word for it. Dorothy moved on to a back room full of racks of Christmas cards. Neon colored reindeer and impressionist style snowmen glared at him from their glossy papers.  
  
"Which do you prefer, the dancing reindeer (^_^) or the Christmas ornaments?" Dorothy inquired, holding up two card samples. Trowa shrugged half-heartedly, turning to gaze out at the moving reindeer carousels on display outside the door.   
  
THUD!!  
  
"OW! What was that for?" Trowa asked, rubbing his head and glaring down at the box of Christmas cards lying at his feet.  
  
"Don't just shrug, this is important!" Dorothy said loudly. Trowa looked up at her, slightly perplexed.  
  
"Why are Christmas cards important?" he countered. Dorothy faltered a little, pausing to think.  
  
"You send them out to people, it's tradition!" she replied, smiling in self-satisfaction.  
  
"Who do we have to send them to?" he asked, leaning back in a questioning air. Dorothy smiled and began counting people off on her fingers.  
  
"Relena, Heero, Duo and Hilde, Quatre, Quatre's Magunacs, Wufei and Sally, Zechs and Noin, and-" Trowa held up a hand.  
  
"Quatre's Magunacs?!" he demanded. Dorothy nodded.  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"I don't think they even celebrate Christmas, Dorothy," Trowa said, shaking his head and smiling. Dorothy's mouth widened.  
  
"Why wouldn't they?" she asked, forgetting that the Magunacs were of Arabian descent.  
  
"*Ahem*, perhaps they're religion?" he reminded her. The concept clicked in her head but she ignored it, the argument was just too fun to let him win.  
  
"So, I'm sure they'd still like a card! And any way, even if they don't like Christmas cards, they won't feel forgotten! As I was saying, there's also my secretary, the Duke-" Trowa's eyes widened.  
  
"You're sending a card to Duke Dermail?!"  
  
"And why not?!" she asked, eagerly awaiting his answer.  
  
"Why would you send one to HIM?" he questioned. Dorothy opened her mouth to yell at him that he was her grandfather but stopped. 'Why should I send one to him?' she asked herself. Her shoulders slumped as she fell into deep thought, remembering all the times he'd forgotten to even wish her a Merry Christmas while she lived with him. A small frown darkened her face and it didn't go unseen by Trowa. With his eyes still on her, he crouched down and picked up the box of cards and walked over to her.  
  
"Here," he said, handing the box to her while shifting the Santa boxes in his arms. With all five in one arm, he wrapped the free one around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked in her hair in a light whisper. Dorothy shook her head but memories were spilling in as she did.  
  
Her first Christmases were happy ones, spent with her father. He doted on her, held her. She wasn't a princess, she was a goddess. But when he died and she was sent to live with her grandfather, everything changed, including Christmas. The 25th always held its charm, but she learned to hide it. When she was sent to the same academy that had once housed her cousin Treize Kushrenada, Milliardo Peacecraft, and Lucrezia Noin she lost her hope for Christmas. She lost most of her hope for everything.  
  
Trowa gently traced circles and odd designs into her shoulder as he moved his head down to face her. He the top of her forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly before moving down to kiss her cheek. Dorothy put on a small, distant smile and turned in his arms to face the Christmas cards. Trowa watched in silent grief as the warm, smiling face was replaced with a set, porcelain mask. He took his arm away and set his burden down.  
  
"Come here," he demanded gently, gesturing towards her. She resisted, moving away.  
  
"Trowa, we need to get this shopping done. Party is-" Trowa raised a hand to her lips and smiled.  
  
"It's next week. Come here," he said, pulling her to his chest. His long hands enveloped her face and pulled it up to face him. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, just thinking about family and- Oh my gosh!! Marameia!" she exclaimed, pulling away from Trowa yet again. "I forgot to pick up her present!" Frantically, she grabbed Trowa's wrist to check the time. Her tense shoulders slumped again.  
  
"Dorothy?"  
  
"The store's closed, I won't be able to pick it up until Monday! Damn…" she trailed off as she looked up at Trowa's face. He was smiling.  
  
He placed his hands on her face again and held her there, with his hands and his eyes. He leaned down and set his forehead against hers.  
  
"Alright, Magunacs get a card, Dermail gets a card, and I'll pick up Marameia's present for you on Monday, just tell me what it is. And in return-" He lifted his head and put his hand under her chin. "You smile for me."  
  
  
  
***  
  
They walked out of the store in much the same mood as they had entered it, despite Dorothy's relapse in Christmas spirit. As the two neared Trowa's car, large, soft tuft like snowflakes began to fall around them. Dorothy looked up, her gray eyes sparkling and the smile she'd promised Trowa lighting her face yet again.  
  
"This is my favorite kind of snow," she told him, twirling around in the street. Trowa laughed and pulled her to the curb.  
  
"Crazy lady," he said through his laughter. Dorothy playfully smacked him with a shopping bag but continued to twirl.   
  
"Jealous?" she asked, her own laughter ringing in the crisp air. Trowa shook his head, snow clinging to his hair.  
  
"Nah, just worried about sharing an apartment with someone who needs to be in an asylum," he joked. Dorothy glared at him but her smile stayed in place. Once they'd reached the car, she placed each bag of decorations carefully in the backseat before turning to Trowa who was about to open the driver's door and start the car.  
  
"Walk with me," she demanded, latching on to the arm holding open the door.  
  
"What?"   
  
"You heard me, let's go for a walk," she replied, tugging at his jacket. Trowa looked back at the car and shrugged. He stepped out back onto the curb, locked the car again, and turned to her.  
  
"Where to, milady?" he inquired, bowing and offering his arm. Dorothy giggled in child-like delight and wrapped her arm through his.  
  
"That park over there," she said, pointing to the large park that occupied the center of the downtown business area of the colony. A curvy path that wound around the park and intertwined with smaller, unpaved paths that led to benches were lit by large Gothic style lampposts. On each of those posts twined a thick evergreen garland complete with large white Christmas light bulbs, adding a charming and romantic light to the park.   
  
The snow was piling up on the remains of the previous night's fall. Although the colony rarely let the snowfall accumulate to more than a foot, it did provide a very natural feel to the spontaneity of the snowfalls. Dorothy let go of Trowa's arm and stepped onto the large lawn that was now white.   
  
"Dorothy?"  
  
"Follow me." Was her only reply. He complied, keeping hold of her small hand. She led him away from any of the paths to a small gazebo that was placed in the center of the park. Although this place was usually teeming with young lovers and teenagers hoping for a first kiss, it was empty now save for an old couple that were exiting the platform anyway. Dorothy's eyes followed their movements, her face gleaming. Trowa raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze.  
  
The older two were holding hands, in much the same manner as Trowa and Dorothy. The women's long silver hair was flowing in the colony's wind, brushing against the old man's shoulder. He was beaming down at the lady, the corners of his eyes bearing the crow's feet that came with extensive smiling. His laugh lines matched her own. A pair of worn wedding bands gleamed in the last remnants of the colony's light. They had obviously led a happy life together.  
  
"I love this song," Dorothy whispered. Trowa pulled himself from his reverie and looked down at her. As he returned to reality her realized what she meant. Greensleeves, an old Christmas song, had started playing on the sound system of the park. Dorothy's hand left his and she began to slowly sway in time with the music. Her face was relaxed and her eyes were gently shut, as if hearing the music and seeing the park at the same time would be too much of a sensation overload. Trowa's smile widened and he stepped closer to the girl, one hand going to her waist and the other to her outstretched hand.  
  
"I can't dance," she whispered, her eyes fluttering open. Trowa chuckled.  
  
"Neither can I." Dorothy laughed and she laid her head on his shoulder as they gracefully blundered their way around the gazebo. They didn't part until two songs later, somehow managing to continue slow dancing through Jingle Bells. The old couple had long since disappeared when the two decided that it would be best to make their way back to the car and go home for some cocoa.  
  
Trowa looked up at the sky and noticed that the artificial night that was timed to mock the shortening of days on earth was now creeping up on them as the light of the colony dimmed down. Dorothy huddled closer to Trowa looking for warmth and his presence. The pilot shook free his arm and draped it across her shoulders. His long reach easily allowed him to pull up the collar of her dark gray pea coat.   
  
"Thanks," she whispered into his shoulder. Trowa nodded in reply, looking back at the path. He didn't want to alarm the young woman in his arms but the cold realization that something was wrong haunted his mind. He turned his head, placing his chin atop her head. But it was a cover so he could peer behind him.  
  
"I thought so," he whispered, catching sight of what he was looking for. Two young men, dressed all in black, were watching them from a good distance away. He turned away and hurried his pace, enough to be effective but not enough to alarm either Dorothy or the Preventers following them.  
  
***  
  
  
  
"We should report back to Mr. Winner, don'tchya think Jack?" Alex asked of his partner. Jack nodded, his eyes following the couple as they left the park. 'Why does Mr. Winner want us following this stupid chic? Is he crazy?!' Jack questioned himself as he rubbed life into his frozen limbs.  
  
"You go on ahead, get back to headquarters. I'll be there in a minute," Jack ordered Alex. The younger blonde nodded, saluted, and retreated quickly to his own car. Jack sat awhile longer, watching the two get in their car and drive away. His mind wandered to the day before.  
  
* "You're Private Sony, aren't you?" A voice asked Jack as he made his way down the hallway. Jack turned to face the gundam pilot Quatre Raberba Winner. The blonde man regarded him with detached aquamarine eyes. Jack Sony had heard of how 3 years of running his father's affairs had left the once vibrant Winner empty. It was rumored that the Space Heart that had once allowed the richest of the pilots the ability to feel what his friends felt had left him, along with his naivety.   
  
Jack nodded.   
  
"Yes sir, I'm Private Sony," Jack replied respectively. The pilot's stance demanded respect. No longer being the thin, boy-faced 15 yr. Old, Mr. Winner had become almost as tall as Capt. Barton, definitely as muscular as Capt. Maxwell, and nearly as stoic as General Yuy.   
  
"I have a favor that I would like to ask of you," the pilot said, clasping a once delicate, regal hand on Jack's shoulder. He led him into an empty office, opening the door with the keys that had been given to him by Lady Une herself. He pushed Jack into a chair opposite the desk and threw down before him a portfolio of different snapshots of a woman.  
  
"This woman is a very dear friend of mine," Quatre told Jack, staring at the opposite wall. "However, as dear to me as she is, she has a very unwanted job to do. Don't ask just what it is, I will not answer. Don't ask what her name is, I will not answer. All you need to do is follow her, find out whom she is with, where exactly she is living now, etc. You have your choice of a partner if you want, I myself would prefer that you work alone. But not a word of this to anyone else, Preventer or otherwise. This is just between you and me," Quatre finished. He was about to leave the room when Jack spoke up.  
  
"Why me?" he asked. Quatre turned around. His eyes were somewhat distant again as they peered down at the younger man.  
  
"As cliché as it sounds, you remind me of myself when I was still a Preventer. You'll be paid good money if you get me the information that we need," Quatre replied, stepping out of the door.   
  
"We?" Jack whispered. 'Mr. Winner had said "we"…I wonder who he's working for…' *  
  
After a day of following the same lady around, Jack Sony stood up and stretched and decided that he'd done his job satisfactorily. However, the gnawing curiosity of who the woman was or what she was needed for would keep him up the rest of that night.  
  
Thanks y'all for reading and for waiting for this chapter to come out. I'll be posting this along with Chapter Nine, to make up for my absence. I hope this will atone for my sins lol. (if I were to seek atonement through writing, I'd have to write the a book the size of War and Peace, Gone With the Wind, all the Lord of the Rings books, and the Bible combined!! Lol)  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	9. The Party Begins

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Nine: The Party Begins  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the cast of Gundam Wing nor the show itself. I do own this nifty little pocketknife though and will attack any and all who steal this fic!!! MWHAHAHAHA! Heh, never mind.  
  
I'm kicking off this chapter with a few tender moments between Duo and Hilde, Heero and Relena, and Wufei and Sally. I needed a little change of pace! Each moment for each couple is loosely based on a different popular song, although I won't mention which. Although I must note that Wufei and Sally's little moment will be a long one because their song includes going to a party (there's your little hint).   
  
Hilde brushed aside a tendril of her blue-black hair and analyzed her reflection. A large bulge in her tummy had replaced her once slim figure. But she caressed that bulge lovingly. 'If only I held the same love for the flab under my arms,' she thought wryly. However, she smiled anyway and clipped her bangs to one side with a red and green clip.  
  
"There, as good as it's gonna get," she declared, her arms akimbo. Through her arms slipped two more, clad in black. They clutched her belly and began tickling it mercilessly.  
  
"I'm the tickle monster, come to claim my two girls! Mwhahaha!!" came Duo Maxwell's voice. Hilde rolled her eyes and tugged playfully at one of her boyfriend's fingers.  
  
"You're such a dork sometimes Duo," she cried, laughing. Duo's head appeared behind her in the mirror as his arms tightened around her middle. Hilde leaned back against his chest, her hand moving up to play with his long hair. His smile never faltered, despite her teasing. "You really ought to braid you hair soon, I don't like it when you braid it in the car on the way to someplace while driving with just your knees," she said, caressing his long, brown locks. Duo's grin widened.  
  
"I'll have you know I haven't braided my hair in the car for over 5 months," he declared. "Not since…" he fell silent, searching her eyes in the mirror. But Hilde just smiled and snuggled into his neck.  
  
"Since I told you I was pregnant," she whispered. Duo nodded, his smile fading. He'd changed a lot since he'd found out that he was going to be a father. Before the news, his doctor had told him that his heart, although healthy now, would soon feel the grief of eating so unhealthily. And he'd ignored it. But when he found out that he was going to be a daddy, a lot of risky behaviors were cut short.  
  
Duo had refrained from taking too many active jobs at work, settling for more desk jobs. The occasional salad replaced his usual grease burger and fries. And he was a careful driver, no longer pushing the speed limit and turning corners like a madman.   
  
"And what did you mean? Two girls my ass!" Hilde said, interrupting his thoughts. "I already know that this is mama's boy right here," she said, looking down at her tummy. Duo snorted.  
  
"Feh, no way, that's daddy's little princess sleeping in there," his hands splayed across the surface of his girlfriend's abdomen. A small tremor met his hands. "Well, maybe not sleeping!" he corrected himself. Hilde laughed as Duo squatted down to place an ear to her belly.  
  
"See, she's got her mother's fighting spirit," Duo joked. Hilde glared and placed one hand over Duo's and the other on his cheek. His eyes softened and his smile became tender as he gazed back up at her.  
  
"You're wrong you know, he's got his father's Shinigami wild side running in him," she countered. Duo looked down and away, pulling himself from her stomach but keeping his hands protectively at her sides.  
  
"Don't say that, Hilde," he said, standing and enveloping her in his arms. "Boy or girl, I don't care, but our baby's not going to have an ounce of Shinigami in it. I'm gonna make sure of that," he whispered into her short hair, lightly kissing her neck. "Not an ounce."  
  
***  
  
  
  
Heero sighed, picking himself up from his armchair. He felt weary, tired…old. His apartment seemed so empty. His Prussian blue eyes closed and a certain honey blonde haired woman entered his thoughts. Her face had always fascinated him. He forgot when it was that he noticed just how pretty her face was. Maybe it was that moment when he came so close to kissing her…he smiled. He forgot where they were when he asked her to trust him. All he honestly remembered was how much he just wanted to skip going to battle and pull her into his cockpit and fly away with her to anywhere. He'd only been 15 but the want to have her at his side at all times was as overpowering then as it was now. He'd even fought his fellow pilot to keep transportation open so he could see her.   
  
However, as hard as it was being away from her, as hard as it was putting up with each day as a Preventer, his love held strong. Each time they could meet secretly was a cherished moment. And that was what kept it so hard on both of them, their secret; was there really a place for a relationship between a pacifist politician and a ex-gundam pilot? He could only hope to whatever deity that watched over him that there was.   
  
Each dream that he had about her was an escape from his cruel reality. This apartment had seen many sessions of their displays of affection and the impression that she left on everyone and everything was almost palpable as he moved from his living room to his bedroom to change for the party.   
  
He'd taken off his shirt and was picking out a suitable one for the occasion when his vid-phone rang. He checked the I.D. and saw the familiar number of the exact woman he'd been thinking of. Frantically, he pushed the button and almost grinned to see her glowing face light his apartment.  
  
"Hello Heero," she said, beaming at him. Heero was never the type to showcase what he was feeling, but she could always read his eyes and tell what he was feeling. Her grin widened when she read the happiness in his eyes to see her.  
  
"Afternoon Relena," he said, his voice hoarse. He pulled the vid-phone off the stand and sat on the arm of his chair. Relena giggled, catching sight of her lover's bare chest.  
  
"I hope you're not going to Quatre's party in just that?" she said through her laughter. Heero allowed himself a small smile. Taking on a more festive air in the presence of his love, he looked down at himself in a joking manner.  
  
"What this? I thought it very proper," he said monotonously, making her laugh even more. He let himself chuckle along with her.  
  
"Well, I'm sure the rest of the girls wouldn't mind," she said, giving him a wink. Heero sighed happily. This is what he waited for everyday. His moment alone with just Relena. Moments with just them were what kept him going. It was kept him alive when he was alone without her.  
  
"Gimme a break," he said, his shell cracking with each smile she pulled out on him. "Hilde's pregnant with Duo's kid, I hardly think she's interested in anything but food." He paused to laugh at Relena's stern expression but continued before she could scold him. "And Sally's seen me in worse condition, being a doctor and all."  
  
"Should I watch out for her?" Relena asked, winking. Heero rolled his eyes.  
  
"I doubt it, Wufei'd kill me anyway," he joked back, giving her a wink of his own.   
  
"What about Dorothy?" Relena questioned, still smiling. Heero paused, before laughing again. "What? Heero?! What are you laughing at?! It's not fair, you know all that's going on with everyone while I'm stuck here," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. Heero stopped, his eyes staring into the screen into hers.  
  
"Dorothy and Trowa are becoming an item," he informed her. Relena's eyes widened and she gasped happily.  
  
"Really?! Oh, I wish I could be there!" Heero tuned out the rest of Relena's talk of how she knew Dorothy was going to ask Trowa to be roommates. He was wishing that her wish would come true. "Oh, damn them!" he heard Relena exclaim. He looked up to see her glaring at something off screen.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked. She suddenly looked tired, that look she'd acquire when someone put something else on her thin shoulders. As much as it hurt to see her suffer under such burdens, he knew she'd never let him help her carry them and it wasn't his place to offer in the first place. He was a Preventer and she was a politician.  
  
"I have a meeting that I forgot about, I'm sorry-"  
  
"Don't apologize," he told her, for what seemed the thousandth time. Heero knew that she was busy and although every once in awhile he'd be selfish and wish for more of her time, he knew that she had to work overtime just to give him the time that he got now. And yet she always apologized when she couldn't give him more.  
  
"Right, sorry-er…" she laughed and looked down. Heero wished he could reach through the screen and touch her, lift her chin and kiss her. "I'd better get going, it's an hour drive." Heero nodded, tearing himself away from the screen.  
  
"Hope you have fun at the party," she said, smiling. Heero returned the smile.  
  
"Have fun at your meeting," he returned. Relena rolled her eyes before becoming a little more serious.  
  
"Aishiteru, Heero," she whispered, her eyes reaching to him through the thousands of miles between them.  
  
"Aishiteru, Relena."  
  
"And Merry Christmas!" she finished with a smile. And then she cut the connection. He knew it was because she'd probably start crying if she didn't. And then he was alone, without her again.  
  
***  
  
Wufei was propped up against the headboard of his bed, reading a book. As his black eyes trailed the lines of meaningless words of the page he was on, he could hear the sound of Sally brushing her hair. She'd been rushing from room to room, looking for clothing selections and makeup. He set the book down in his lap and took off his glasses. He smiled as he heard her put the brush down and begin to dress. She was always so concerned with looking good but also the impression that she hadn't tried too hard. He chuckled quietly at the thought of her odd habits. He gathered his hair into a tight knot behind his head and considered it done.  
  
"How do I look?" Sally asked, doing a full spin as Wufei looked up at her. She was standing in the doorway, her blonde hair pulled out of its casual pigtails and set free to cascade down and around her shoulders. Her lips, always a lovely red, had been painted a deeper shade and her blue eyes were complimented with blue powder atop her lids. A long green dress flowed down to her ankles and followed her curves wonderfully.  
  
"You look wonderful," he answered, standing up. He pulled her coat from their desk chair and held it up for her, smiling back at her.   
  
"Thank you," she said, curling into the warmth of the coat he'd bought her after their first year as Preventers. Wufei pulled on his own coat and placed a protective hand at the small of her back as he led her out of the bedroom and out of the small house they'd purchased together two months ago. As was his custom, Wufei grabbed the door before Sally and opened it for her. She groaned but with a smile in her eyes.  
  
"You're too much, Wufei," she told him as he pulled himself into the vehicle. He rolled his eyes as he started the engine. Giving her the small smile that he reserved only for her, he drove them off to Trowa and Dorothy's apartment.  
  
"Hard to believe Quatre's leaving," Sally said, entering and dispersing gently their comfortable silence. Wufei nodded in response. "I hope he'll be alright," Sally continued in a whisper.   
  
"He is a gundam pilot, I think he'll handle Earth fine," Wufei said with amusement. Sally frowned.  
  
"That's not what I meant, he's different…I'm hoping that he won't change on all of us again. He's like Heero used to be," she said, her blue eyes saddening. Wufei, with his eyes still on the road, instinctively reached for her chin and lifted it. He took his eyes off the road for a few moments to look at her.  
  
"Don't worry about Quatre," he whispered and gave her a broad smile, which she returned. They rode in silence until they reached the apartment building Duo had instructed them to go to. Sally moved to open her door and turned to stick her tongue out at Wufei only to meet an empty seat and hear the door open for her.  
  
"Damn you," she whispered into his ear as she stood and stepped unto the curb. Wufei would have grinned like a Cheshire cat at the older woman if Duo hadn't slapped him on the back.  
  
"Chang!! Good to see you again!!" the pilot's voice chimed. Wufei's eyes rolled upwards.  
  
"You just saw me on Friday," he said, his tone dripping with annoyance. However, a small, unseen touch on his forearm from Sally and his mood lifted. The group of two gundam pilots and two ex-Oz soldiers made their way through the thick snow and up the stairs to where the party awaited.  
  
As Wufei entered, his black eyes didn't fail to notice how heads, particularly male heads, turned to watch Sally as she took off her coat and handed it to Dorothy, playing hostess. However, the Chinese Gundam pilot didn't feel threatened, only glad to know that this beautiful lady was walking around with him and no one else. She must have caught his expression because as soon as Trowa had left them after asking them the usual party greeting questions, she pulled him aside.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips. Wufei smiled back, releasing the hers.  
  
"I feel wonderful," he replied. And with that they turned to enjoy the party.  
  
***  
  
Dorothy smiled as the last of the guests they'd been waiting for entered. Heero had been first, of course. He was never late for anything, that one she reminded herself. Duo, Hilde, Wufei, and Sally had all entered around the same time, closely followed by Catherine. Lady Une entered with little Marameia in tow, who'd after all the chaos of the Eve Wars, had reverted from her previous following of her father's footsteps, to a normal, chipper little girl. Quatre was last to arrive, which was odd since he was usually tied with Heero when it came to attendance. However, he had tried to politely excuse his tardiness for his own party with a casual 'Got caught up at work'.  
  
The blonde woman stopped to admire her handiwork as she turned around to face the rest of the apartment. She and Trowa had turned their bland little apartment into a mini-winter wonderland. Fake snow decorated the windowsills and the frosted glass panels that formed the interior walls of the apartment were laced with evergreen garland and white Christmas lights. Red and green trimmed every surface and their Christmas tree stood tall and proud in a corner near her bedroom.   
  
Trowa, being the best at making hot cocoa of the two, had whipped up large mugs for each guest and for the non-believers, large glasses of eggnog. And of course, for later, there were glasses of champagne waiting and ready. (yeah, I know, by my timeline, they wouldn't be quite of age, but let's pretend by their time, the age limit's been lowered!!) That morning they had gotten up earlier than usual to conjure up a variety of table snacks for the party. Mistletoe hung from little hooks at different, but strategic, places to capture unsuspecting victims. And last, but definitely not least, under the afore mentioned tree, lay a large heap of presents, added to as the guests arrived.   
  
"Dorothy, can I speak to you for a moment?" came the gentle tinkling of Catherine's voice. The older woman peered down at Dorothy, her near-lavender eyes questioning. Dorothy smiled, surprising the woman.  
  
Catherine, in the very short time that she had been able to acquaint herself with Dorothy before, had been under the impression that the Catalonia girl had been a cold hearted, well, witch. However, the warm smile that she had received, coupled with the sweet, tender looks shared between the girl and her younger brother had made her question her previous assumption.  
  
Dorothy and Catherine tore themselves from the ongoing comical discussion the group had going around the table concerning whether Deathsycthe would win if put up against Heavyarms. They moved to the couch, which Dorothy had lovingly decorated with Christmas doilies and sat down in the plush material.  
  
"Is it true?" Catherine blurted out, her sisterly nature getting the best of her. Dorothy gave her a bemused look. "You and Trowa, is it true?"  
  
Dorothy was about to say yes when she caught out of the corner of her eye the familiar movements of the pilot in question. Turning her head away from Catherine she looked at him fully, her gray eyes softening almost as much as her knees. However, as she looked at him, it dawned on her that Trowa was, by nature, a quiet man and what they shared may well be what he considered one of their unspoken secrets. Could she really break that trust by jumping to conclusions? Were they officially going out anyway? What WAS there status?  
  
Turning back to Catherine, she concluded that with so many questions to answer herself, there was no way she could give a definite answer to her. Her eyes looked desperate, as if holding back the joy of her relationship with Trowa caused her pain. Her voice was soft as she answered.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
CRASH!  
  
Dorothy whipped around to see Quatre staring at her with a confused expression. She stood quickly, throwing out any thoughts of how long he'd been standing there.  
  
"Quatre? Are you alright?" she asked, laying a hand on his forearm. His aquamarine eyes turned away from the space he was staring at to look down at her. He smiled a small smile.  
  
"Quite fine, Ms. Dorothy. My mug just slipped, is all," he answered, pulling away from a slightly confused Dorothy and bending to pick up the shattered pieces of his mug. Uncomfortably, she realized that the whole room had gone silent, the gradually growing brawl over Deathysycthe vs. Heavyarms suddenly quiet. Dawning on her that she was being an rude hostess, she too bent down to pick up the rest of Quatre's mug.  
  
"I'm very sorry, Ms. Dorothy," he said, his old sweet and polite manner overruling his more recent cold ways. Dorothy shook her head, smiling.  
  
"No harm done, cocoa won't stain the floor," she said, laughing nervously. Quatre nodded, standing and taking the pieces to the garbage. Slowly, the life returned to the rest of the party. Dorothy stood, following Quatre to the garbage bin and throwing away her own pieces of the mug. She turned to grab a towel to mop up the rest of the cocoa when she caught sight of something in Quatre's hand. He was grasping his hand with a white hanker chief, blood seeping through the material.  
  
"Quatre! You're bleeding!" she exclaimed. Sally, not far away, hear the shout and made her way over.  
  
"It's nothing, really," he said. Sally's delicate hands waved the air to make a space for herself and grabbed Quatre's hand to examine it for herself.  
  
"Dorothy, do you have any antiseptics and bandages?" the doctor asked. Dorothy nodded, recalling faintly the memory of the night Trowa came home bruised and bleeding. She rushed to the bathroom but Trowa had beaten her to it. He turned with the bandages, giving her a knowing smile, which she gladly returned. However, no other romantic move was made and Dorothy felt she'd done the right thing by not telling Catherine anything about their relationship.  
  
***  
  
As soon as Quatre's hand was fixed up, Dorothy served dinner and dessert, which was quickly devoured in anticipation for presents. Trowa stood back, scraping his plate with his left over turkey. He snorted at how so many of the gundam pilots turned their noses up at vegetables, himself included. They may have been god-like at 15 but give the 3 of them a decade or two and they'd have beer guts to rival anyone's. However, Duo had already found the slow road to veggies, thanks to Hilde, and Quatre had always been a bit of a loose vegetarian.   
  
His emerald eyes scanned the room, passing over his four brothers as he had grown to consider them. He laughed at the thought, if they were all brothers, then he was an uncle to Duo's kid. Hopefully, uncle hood didn't entail babysitting duty.  
  
The festive air that had hung suspended around just a few of the guests had now descended upon everyone. Marameia had become the sweetheart of the party, her Christmas party dress twirling around her as she was spun by various gundam pilots dancing with her. Even Heero went for a spin, which was a pit of a funny scene, seeing as he was the shortest of the five. All he had to do was bend slightly to take her hands to dance. Trowa set his plate down as Marameia beckoned him over.  
  
"Dance with me Uncle Trowa!" she exclaimed, reaching up to grab his hands. Trowa's eyes widened and his eyes found Dorothy's, who looked just as surprised. Une giggled behind a raised hand.  
  
"She thinks you and Dorothy are together," she said quietly through her laughter. The third gundam pilot could see a faint blush on his roommate's cheeks and expected her to look at him however, her gaze went to Catherine, who was trying hard to talk to Quatre.  
  
"Please Uncle Trowa!" came Marameia's voice. Trowa looked down and smiled at her sweet expression of eagerness. Her time with Une had made a complete reversal in returning the girl's innocence. She'd once talked of things girls her age should never have known about and that scared the gundam pilots more than any enemy before.  
  
"Of course," he said. However, he realized how awkward the situation would be, considering his height. So he got to his knees before her and took her extended hand. "That better?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. Marameia nodded and began to lead ferociously as Jingle Bells came on.   
  
Over the mess of the child's brown hair he could see Dorothy's eyes soften as she watched the two dance. It was one of those moments in which he knew what she was thinking. And he was thinking the exact same thing. 'Wouldn't it be nice to make Duo an uncle?' he thought as he smiled back at Marameia.   
  
Trowa's eyes unfocused slightly as he began to again think of Dorothy. Although his experience with girlfriend/boyfriend relationships was nonexistent at best, he did know that what they had was more than the usual friend's with benefits. Although he didn't feel he'd ever have to utter the words, but he could admit to himself that Dorothy was his. He himself didn't know enough about love to say that theirs was true but if it wasn't, then what was it?   
  
Quatre stared past Catherine's lovely violet eyes to set his proverbial cross hairs on Dorothy. His "spies" had done well. Quatre knew the layout of this apartment like the back of his hand now and his betrothed routine. It was an odd feeling watching the woman that was going to be his wife watch another man with such love and affection in her eyes. It stirred a feeling not quite jealousy but more…annoyance. He turned to Catherine, his aqua trying to mask his tired eyes with a smile.  
  
"Excuse me Cathy," he said. Catherine nodded energetically, reveling in the feel of her crush using her nickname. Quatre reached past her slender waist and set his glass of champagne on the side table behind her before brushing past her and making his way towards Dorothy. He looked down to see Trowa and Marameia still dancing away to various Christmas carols.   
  
"Dorothy?" he asked in a whisper, laying a now calloused hand on her small shoulder. She looked up at him, her gray eyes searching dutifully as her position as hostess. "May I speak with you?"   
  
"Of course," she said, leading away from the group that had gathered to watch from the dancing with Marameia. Quatre however, took a steel grip on her arm just above her elbow and steered her out of the apartment, softly closing the door behind them. "Quatre?" she asked, "is everything alright? Is your hand bothering you again?"  
  
Quatre paused and cocked his head to look at her in the yellow light of the hallway. She had changed since the Eve Wars. Not just in appearance either, although that did strike him a bit. She was still athletic but, maybe it was her personality or her actually body, she had softened somewhere, somehow.  
  
"No, my hand is fine…Dorothy," he said, forming the sounds of her name carefully, as if he'd never said it before. His tone sent tremors up Dorothy's spine and caused her to stand up straighter to meet his steady gaze. His khakis rustled lightly as he stepped forward, closing the delicate space between them.  
  
"Why-what did you want to talk about Quatre?" she asked, her hands clutching at the bottom of her Christmas sweater.  
  
"Did I say I wanted to talk?" he asked in husky whisper. The air that separated them rushed out around them as he rushed her. He grabbed her hand and forced it to his abdomen. "Can you feel that?" he asked, his voice harsh. His eyes were ice.  
  
"Feel wh-" she began but Quatre cut her off as he violently pulled her away from the wall with his free hand and slammed her back into it. He let go of her hand quickly, leaving a stunned Dorothy watching as he pulled off his own shirt. Her eyes, searching the spot he's forced her to feel found what she was looking for.  
  
A small but wide jagged scar was the only imperfection that she could see on his alabaster skin. And she despised imperfection. That thought was the last real logical one she had that night as Quatre grabbed her hand again and laid it on the scar.  
  
"You did that to me, Dorothy," he said, his face only inches from hers. Had there not been a night where she didn't torment herself with this moment. He was finally seeking the revenge he deserved from her. However, his fingers became gentle and he began to stroke the lengths of her fingers. He picked up her hand delicately and laid it across his heart.  
  
"And now you're doing this to me," he said. No matter how cliché she would think it later on, it was touching in that little moment. However, the thought of Trowa was lodged firmly in her mind and she pulled her hand away.  
  
"Quatre, I know I've never really apologized for that and I guess now isn't really the ti-" but she was again cut off as Quatre closed the distance between them with a forceful kiss.  
  
Ok, again, sorry that this took so long. Hope you like :D!! There is a hint in here of the New Faction; can any of catch the specific one?  
  
Love ya'll for reading, adore ya'll for reviewing!!! MadameHotaru.of.87 


	10. Frozen

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Ten: Frozen  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing but I do own Quatre!! (j/k j/k j/k, I don't…yet…)  
  
Hopefully, none of you aren't too mad at me for letting Chapter Nine end with a bit of a cliff…:D…don't hurt me…  
  
I've made a promise to myself that this story won't be a never-ending story and I've put the limit of chapter somewhere between 10 and 20; no more. However, just to let you know, Chapter 13 (being a good number ^_~) will be a special chapter dedicated to my reviewers and will be a CLAMP style get together with the authoress (that's me!!) and the characters and whoever else decides to pop in!! Just don't let FF.net know about it *shh!!*  
  
Trowa rose to his knees, wincing as they cracked. Duo laughed at his expression.  
  
"Getting old already?" he asked jovially. Trowa laughed and watched carefully as Marameia spun away, her party dress twirling with her. He was so enthralled by the little girl and the way she melted everyone around her that he didn't notice Une close in on him until she spoke.  
  
"Did Dorothy get that present?" The woman asked, a slight tone of worry lacing her words as her eyes also followed Marameia.   
  
"Um-present?" he asked. Une sighed exasperatedly.  
  
"She didn't tell you? C'mon, she must have told you," she insisted. Trowa shook his head. Une began gesturing, making a box with her hands.  
  
"Y'know, the pink box with the big gold bow…" she said, her voice trailing to a whisper as she noticed that Marameia was watching the two very closely. Trowa thought hard and realized what she was talking about.  
  
"I have it," he said. Une put a hand to her head in relief.  
  
"Good, I was worried it wouldn't be under the tree in time," she said and moved away. However, that left Trowa in a little predicament. He *did* have the pink box with the gold bow however, he had it in his car. Placing his mug on the counter, he quickly made his way out of the apartment and into the hallway. He was so preoccupied thinking about how he could get the large box that was Marameia's new dollhouse up the stairs and into the apartment without breaking it or himself that he didn't notice Quatre and Dorothy until he'd almost bumped into them.  
  
Dorothy's hands, those delicate ivory hands, were wrapped tightly around Quatre's thin wrists and her lithe body was pressed up against the green walls of the hallway, her pale hair contrasting sharply with the color. Quatre had her face, the face Trowa had become accustomed to waking up to in the morning, in his hands in what looked like a lover's touch. Her eyes, those lovely gray eyes, were closed in, seemingly, pure bliss.  
  
What hurt more, her betrayal or the knowledge that he had no place to stop her? This was the question that haunted him as he quickly turned away and silently made his way down the hallway the other way.  
  
Dorothy's grip tightened on Quatre's wrists in her attempt to pull him away and the space behind her eyes was aching as she forced her eye muscles to clench tighter together. His hands finally let her go and his mouth pulled away from hers. Before she could stop him he began laying butterfly kisses along her face. There had been many times in the morning when Trowa would do this but it was wonderful, it was right when it was Trowa's lips on her skin.  
  
With Quatre, with Quatre it was wrong.  
  
Trowa's pace quickened as the sounds of dry lips hitting skin reached his ears, he couldn't do anything, the silent relationship between Trowa and Dorothy was just that, silent. He had no claim on her. But that didn't mean he had to be in front of everyone else while he dealt with that pain.  
  
Dorothy turned her head quickly to get away from Quatre's searching lips and as her eyes opened, she saw Trowa hurriedly turning a corner and for a nanosecond their eyes locked.  
  
His green eyes were burning as his eyes narrowed into a glare. Her own gray eyes tried calling to him for help as her mouth opened to do the same but Quatre had followed her gaze and, with a smirk and gleam in his eyes, he grabbed her chin to face him and kissed her again. Quatre had made his claim and Trowa had to back off, it was as simple as that the third gundam pilot reasoned with himself as he ignored the annoying feeling that it was he who was abandoning Dorothy instead of the other way around.  
  
Quatre's head snapped to the side at the force of Dorothy's slap. Once he had pulled away from their kiss, the girl had surprised him by freeing a hand and backslapping him. A narrow red ribbon appeared as if by magic across his cheek and blood began oozing out of the small wound. For the second time that night, he pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped at the blood. Dorothy gasped and Quatre looked at her knowingly, a smile etching into his features.   
  
"Recognize this?" he asked, holding it up. He hadn't let her get a good look at it when he originally pulled it out but he wanted her to see it, especially after their kiss.   
  
"You bastard," she shrieked, pushing him away. Thrown off balance he fell into the opposite wall, hitting his head hard against the plaster. Dorothy took off running in the direction that Trowa had gone. Her mind was set on getting to Trowa; throwing her arms around Trowa and sinking into his smell, his warmth, his voice, his reassuring smile was all she could think about as she ran. Quatre stumbled to his feet and quickly followed but as he was about to pass by the apartment door it opened and Catherine stepped in front of him.  
  
"Quatre!" she cried, holding him by the shoulders to steady him. "What's wrong?" Quatre's eyes looked past the flip of Catherine's chocolate hair to see the last flash of Dorothy's hair as she turned the corner. His aquamarine eyes fell on Catherine and he gave her a sweet smile.  
  
"No Cathy, nothing's wrong," he reassured her and let her lead him back into the party.  
  
***  
  
He didn't care that he was leaving the party. In fact the only problem he had with leaving was he wouldn't get to see Marameia's happy face as she opened her gift. But he'd ask Une about it. Trowa looked up from his feet; after reaching the backset of the stairs he'd taken off in a dead run. He couldn't stand hearing Quatre, his best friend, and Dorothy…  
  
What was Dorothy to him? Had he really thought that they were in love? He snorted, chuckled, and then broke out into loud laughter, surprising the pedestrians passing by him. He turned away from the main sidewalk and headed off into a darkened alleyway to be alone to his thoughts.  
  
"You're an idiot, Barton," he told himself as he kicked up a random piece of garbage. 'To hell with her, let her do whatever the hell she wants to do with whomever she wants,' he thought as he found himself at a dead end. For some reason, the obstacle in his way made him mad. No, mad wasn't the word…furious. Reaching back with all of his might, he punched the concrete wall in front of him. Blood splattered onto the ground and the wall. His knuckles ached and he pulled them away quickly, holding his hand. It was a release and that was what he needed. However, he still needed to rid himself of these frustrations before facing his friends again and punching walls would raise suspicions.   
  
With a still bleeding hand, he navigated towards the back entrance of his favorite bookstore, only 3 blocks away from where he stood. The storekeeper had learned that there was no way to keep Trowa out and so he'd stopped trying to cleverly hide the keys to the backdoor. They were behind a false brick, the third block from the right of the doorway. He opened the door and instantly began to calm down as the smell of mustiness filled his nostrils. He was so enthralled with the smell that he didn't bother closing the door. The familiar labyrinth that he loved to navigate greeted him readily with an enveloping darkness. He turned his corners and found his way to his niche, which was empty.  
  
It was hard to believe that only what, 2, maybe 3 weeks ago he'd found Dorothy sprawled on that- no, he couldn't think of her. Trowa shook his head vigorously, ridding himself of thoughts of the blonde. He snorted and laughed again.  
  
"It's always the blondes that betray me…" he whispered to the darkness. He flopped into the softness of the sofa and lit the lamp next to it. He sat still, almost in a trance, for an undetermined hour before noticing "his copy" of Snow Falling on Cedars. After Dorothy had returned it to him at the coffee shop, he'd brought it back before setting off with her to look at their current apartment. He stretched and reached for it. He opened to a random page and began reading slowly.  
  
It was the part where Ishmael was staring at his arm in a container of other limbs and was thinking to himself how much of a bitch Hatsue was. Trowa smiled bitterly; the scene seemed to fit perfectly. Neither of the men were really staring at a broken limb; they were staring at broken hearts.  
  
"Trowa?!" a voice exclaimed from the doorway. Trowa's head shot up, his lips forming into a snarl, more for himself than anyone at letting his guard down. However, the growl quickly dissipated as he realized that it was only the bookstore keeper.   
  
"Sorry Mr. Caffeer, I just needed some time alone, I didn't mean to be a burden," Trowa said softly, rising and preparing to leave. However, Mr. Caffeer stopped him.   
  
"No, no, its alright, I just heard someone come in and I thought I'd check it out. But you're always welcome Trowa," he said, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. Trowa returned the warm smile and sat back down. Caffeer too took a seat and cocked his head to one side. "Everything alright?"  
  
Trowa nodded, staring at the cover of his book.   
  
"Just girl problems," he said, fingering the pages. Caffeer followed his gaze and frowned as he read the title.  
  
"Well then, that's not the book you'd want to be reading," he said, gently pulling the book from his grasp. Trowa looked up, his eyes questioning.  
  
"If you did something to upset her, then you-" But Trowa cut him off.  
  
"She's not really mine," he said dejectedly, his green eyes downcast. Caffeer nodded his understanding and then fingered his dark green robe.  
  
"Do something special for her," he said, looking up at him through his mussed up comb over. Trowa laughed bitterly, shaking his head.  
  
"It's complicated, but she's involved with someone else," he said. Caffeer nodded again and held up the book.  
  
"Well then, this is definetly not the book to be reading," he advised. Trowa looked up at him curiously.  
  
"But Ishmael and I, we're-"  
  
"No, no, you and Ishmael aren't alike Trowa. Ishmael was a soldier yes, Ishmael lost his secret love to another man yes, but Ishmael is in this book and you, you are sitting right there in front of me; as real as can be," he answered. Trowa considered his words for awhile but before he could respond, Caffeer continued.  
  
"Trowa, whoever she is, whoever she's involved with, if you really care for her, let her know. Don't matter what she might have done," he said and stood up. He turned out of the niche and looked back over his shoulder. "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave Trowa." And he was gone.  
  
But Trowa wasn't listening, he'd already pulled on his coat again and headed out the back door.  
  
***  
  
Dorothy silently berated herself for rushing out after Trowa with nothing on but the Christmas skirt and sweater outfit she's worn for the party. She pulled her arms closer to her chest, crossing them around her body for heat. She had been running in her heels for close to a half hour when one of them broke. Her tights were now torn at the knee and her pace was slowed by her lopsided shoes, exhaustion, and cold. The heel incident was a good hour ago, so she figured she'd been out here for an hour and a half.   
  
Being an ex-soldier, she knew what this strain was doing to her body, but she didn't care. Without Trowa, what was the point? That was the unbidden thought that passed through her now slightly dizzy mind as she recklessly crossed a street and turned into the park in the downtown area of the colony.   
  
She high stepped through the unusually thick snow, making her steady way to the festively lit gazebo. Her heart fell through her chest as the realization that Trowa wasn't to be seen sank in. It was no warmer there when she reached it but was a good place to rest. However, in the back of her mind, she knew the real reason as to why she'd chosen this spot. Even if she did have the strength to pull herself back to the apartment, she'd probably die of complications from being exposed to these temperatures for so long. This gazebo held the only good memory she could recall in that moment and it was a good a place as any to die.  
  
The loud speaker that had played Greensleeves while Trowa and Dorothy danced not a week ago at that very spot was now warning colonists to return to indoors and that the colony was on Code Blue due to a malfunction in the automatic weather system. Distantly, she heard the announcer order that anyone without a home to return to was to report to the three shelters in the colony immediately. Dorothy did a slow turn and stared off into the flurry; she had no home to return to. There was no way she would go back to the apartment, she refused to go back to the smug look Quatre would surely give her. Blackness was rimming her eyesight.  
  
Dorothy let herself sink down into the snow that covered the bench of the gazebo. Too tired to wipe them away, tears fell down her cheeks, freezing to the skin despite the little warmth still being given off by her body. The snow below her melted from her body heat and sank into her skirt and through her tights.  
  
She pulled her legs closer to her, wrapping her arms around them and burying her head into her bloody knees. Her sobs filled the now silent cold, crisp air. The gazebo was still with the same white icicle lights that had decked them a week earlier. But their charm did nothing to soothe her.   
  
Without permission, the past few weeks that had become so precious to her rushed through her mind. She'd run away from her Grandfather to escape his grand plan to marry her off to Quatre Raberba Winner and at the same time, win the man as a powerful ally. She didn't stick around long enough to find out just why her Grandfather wanted Quatre; the thought of being married to him had scared her. She didn't hate Quatre, not even now. In fact, at one time she could admit in what were obviously her last hours, that she had had a crush on the boy that she had stabbed at fifteen.   
  
But Quatre was no longer that boy and the thought of settling down so young to someone so cold frightened her. Yes, she could definitely admit that as well; The Great Ice Queen had been frightened.   
  
So she ran off from Earth to the colonies, telling the staff at her office that she was taking a much needed vacation and would be back in, at least, a month. She'd ended up here, looking for a place to live. However, although politicians were often paid good money for travel expenses and what not, in their modern world, living expenses weren't. And that's when she spotted Trowa.   
  
She followed him for a day and already had memorized his routine. She'd even found out how to get to his niche. And that's when everything started.  
  
She'd fallen in love. There she went again, admitting to herself all these troubling things. The night that Trowa had left her in the apartment alone while he chased after that android had forced her to come to terms that she would miss Trowa if he left her. Yet she didn't think she'd miss him this much.   
  
A sob racked her shivering body and any passerby would be able to tell from a distance that the girl needed medical attention. Her lips, once so pink, had turned an alarming blue and her face was as white as the snow around her. The blackness grew deeper and her head grew heavier and harder to hold up. Defeated, Dorothy laid herself down on the bench, pulling her sweater closer.  
  
When she was fifteen, she never would have imagined dying this way: alone, maybe, but not depressed and willing to let go. She was a fighter but her fight was gone.   
  
Crunch. Crunch.  
  
Dorothy's eyes, the only part of her that seemed to remember how to move, searched around her for the source of the footsteps. In the far reaches of her brain arose the gnawing fear that it was Quatre coming back to claim her.  
  
Crunch. Crunch. The steps were becoming faster and she knew they were directing their owner to her. She closed her frozen eyelids, wishing for death before Quatre. The blackness that had steadily closed in on her vision claimed her completely.  
  
Trowa was running now, the same run he'd taken through this very park not very long ago. Somehow he knew she'd be there. He'd returned to the apartment to find she'd been gone for an hour and a half already. He'd jumped the steps, ignoring the concerned cries of his friends, and had started his car off in this direction. As he'd backed out of his parking spot, he'd caught the gleam in Quatre's eyes. And Trowa knew.  
  
Snow clung to his jeans and soaked into the skin below, but he couldn't care less. Through the whipping snow clouds he caught sight of what could only be Dorothy's figure slumped inside the gazebo. He jumped the platform and shook the snow off him before rushing to her side. His thoughts were frantic as he took in her pale blue lips, her translucent skin, the total lack of movement. As gently as he could in his panic, he picked her up off the bench and pulled her close to him. His fingers sought for the pulse that would dispel all his nightmares but it either wasn't there or too faint for him to feel.   
  
"No," he whispered, as he lifted her limp body from the bench and carried her out back into the storm towards his car. The elements had taken their toll on her body and she needed medical attention. He broke out into a light run, slightly jostling the girl in his arms. He mentally screamed for his body to move faster as the distance between them and the car closed.   
  
After what seemed an eternity, he reached the beaten Lincoln and reached for the door, but the elements had also taken their toll on the car. The below freezing temperatures had frozen the car locks shot in that short amount of time. Cursing fate, himself, and Dorothy for doing this to herself, he took off across the street looking for a place to go. However, most people had taken off from the colony to escape the malfunction and were vacationing on close by on cluster L1.   
  
Yet with a stroke of luck, he'd found the alleyway that usually eluded him that led to another familiar alleyway. In a matter of minutes, Trowa had run the length of the three blocks and had pulled his frozen lover into the bookstore.  
  
What shall I do to the couple next? Review, and find out my dears!! I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing and sticking with me; I swear, updates will be coming along faster like they used to!! Things are starting to slow down, with Forensics Sub-District being next Monday and V-Day being this Saturday. :D yippee!!!  
  
Chapter 11 probably won't be explaining why Quatre's hand kerchief is so important but trust me, it is! Chapter 12 will probably bring about the explaining and what not.   
  
Love you all!!  
  
Madame.Hotaru.of.87 


	11. Earthbound

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Eleven: Earthbound  
  
Told ya the updates would be coming fast!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing *sad face*  
  
Mr. Caffeer shook his head dejectedly as he took in the depressing sight of a sullen Trowa being held by his sister Catherine. The glaring white lights of the hospital waiting room were cheerful, only making the sight more horrific. Marameia was trying to stifle a yawn, having declared earlier that she would wait with Uncle Trowa for Aunt Dorothy to get better. Lady Une's long brown hair hid her face, but her shaking shoulders gave away that she was crying. Heero was standing apart from the group, his eyes deadlocked on Quatre, who was sitting calmly, almost unaffected by the trauma of the rest of the group. His long legs were crossed and his hands folded over his top knee. His own eyes were drifting from Trowa's face to Dorothy's door down the hall from where they sat.  
  
Everyone saw him serenely walk in to the apartment with Catherine, and they had all seen him exit with Dorothy. And when Trowa returned three hours later to a very concerned group of people with the news of Dorothy's admittance to the hospital, all heads turned to Quatre for an explanation. Including Trowa, who had flown into a blind rage at the sight of who was once his best friend.  
  
Accusations flew as Trowa pointed at Quatre, screaming curse words despite Marameia's presence. Quatre had stood quietly, taking it all in and only Catherine, who was standing closest to him, could see the smug, self-assured look in his aquamarine eyes. As soon as Duo had calmed Trowa down, the group took off to the hospital to check on their friend. The Caffeer's were waiting for them there and the introductions were short and bitter.  
  
Trowa looked up from his sister's shoulder to lock his eyes on Quatre, who sat across from him. His gaze conveyed all the hate that threatened to boil over and make him wipe that look of his Arabian holier-than-thou face. The look that the two had shared before Trowa left to find Dorothy had made it all clear to him. Quatre didn't want Dorothy, he didn't care for her. And Trowa would be damned if he let him take her away from him if only to hurt her.  
  
He could, and would, let her go if he knew she was going to be loved, but not if she was going to be hurt. However, as he shifted his gaze, he landed on Dorothy's door. He shouldn't have left like that. Knowing that he could have potentially killed her tore at his heart and the hate he felt for Quatre was know being equally directed at himself.   
  
He pulled away from Catherine and stood up, beginning to pace. He didn't deserve to be comforted.   
  
Marameia looked up from Lady's lap, her wide eyes following Trowa. She untangled herself from her coat that served as her blanket and moved toward him. She reached up and took his larger hand in her own and laid her head on his waist.  
  
"Aunt Dorothy will be better, Uncle Trowa, don't worry," she said softly, smiling up at him. Trowa, for the first time in a long time, let a lone tear escape his eyes. He bent down, face to face with the girl, trying to smile through his tears.  
  
"That's right hon.," he said, his voice cracking. He picked her up and set her back down next to Lady and continued his pacing.  
  
A loud yawn from Hilde made the group pause and look at their watches. Slowly, the group ebbed out of the hospital, starting with Duo and Hilde, until only Trowa, Quatre, and Heero were left. Heero, who'd been standing the whole time, finally sat down next to Trowa. He placed a calloused hand on the man's thin shoulder and gave it a sympathetic pat. The Heavyarms pilot looked up, surprise in his eyes at the sudden display of emotion.  
  
"Dorothy's gonna pull through," Heero said. Trowa nodded half-heartedly, recovering from the uncharacteristic show of optimism.   
  
"Excuse me, are you the young man who brought Ms. Catalonia in?" an aging man in a starched white coat asked, breaking the moment of companionship. Trowa looked up and nodded.  
  
"Yes," he answered, his voice still hoarse.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be any relation to her, would you? Or perhaps know of someone we could contact?" he asked, his eyes avoiding the heart-wrenching sight of the man before him. Heero looked up, his Prussian blue eyes reflecting the ice-cold feeling that was now freezing his heart. He'd been in enough hospitals to know that when the doctors asked for relatives, something was wrong. And with only a glance at Trowa's face, Heero knew that he knew it too.  
  
Trowa spoke first.  
  
"No, I'm not relation and I only know of one living relative; what's wrong with her?"   
  
"We don't have the supplies to revive her skin, she's suffering from severe frostbite but so is half of the rest of the colonies. We need to send her to Earth…" Trowa distantly heard the rest of the doctor's speech, heard Heero give the doctor the phone number from Dorothy's black book to contact Duke Dermail, but his mind was repeating the last sentence that he actually listened to.  
  
"We need to send her to Earth…" They couldn't do that now, they just couldn't, in two days the idea that Quatre had proposed earlier would take effect; transportation between Earth and its colonies would be terminated, and Trowa had already designated himself to stay here in the colonies. Dorothy would be on Earth with Quatre and he'd be stuck here, unable to protect her, unable to keep her away from him.  
  
However, she couldn't stay here with him, the frostbite was just too serious. There was no way around it. Trowa looked over at Quatre, still sitting serenely as though none of this was happening. The younger man knew that he'd one and with a confident shake of his blonde head, stood up and grabbed his expensive leather jacket. Trowa, who had once admired his comrade for his kindness, his openness; now hated everything about him, every move, every look, every single god damned thing.  
  
Quatre had won and he knew it. No words were said as the former Sandrock pilot left the waiting room, probably to pack for the trip to Earth.  
  
Defeated, Trowa sank into his chair and stared off at Dorothy's door, ignoring Heero completely.  
  
***  
  
Dorothy awoke to a painful tingling traveling through her body. Each nerve end seemed to be singed with a burning white-hot pinpricks. The sensation of the sheets and her hospital gown against her skin left her body fighting her mind as it commanded her to move. A nurse with friendly brown eyes and mousy hair up in a bun looked into the room and smiled at the girl.  
  
"So you're awake?" she asked, as though the open eyes and grimace upon the girl didn't give it away. Dorothy, in too much pain to snap, only nodded and tried to convey her pain through a whisper.  
  
"What's wrong with me?"   
  
The nurse had to lean in close to hear the whisper and Dorothy had to repeat herself several times before the woman understood.  
  
"You were out in that nasty weather for so long that your skin has been severely damaged by frostbite. Is it hurting?" she asked, as though she were asking what she'd like for dinner. Dorothy nodded in answer to the question and the nurse's hands snapped together in an excited clap. "That's a good thing," she said. "Means the skin's still alive!"   
  
Her enthusiasm made Dorothy grumble to herself silently however, her mental pain caused by the nurse's presence was relieved when the doctor made his entrance.  
  
"Awake, that's good. Your friends have been very worried about you, young lady," he said like an old uncle seeing his niece. The nurse turned her attention to the man.  
  
"Her skin still has feeling Doctor," she said. The doctor nodded, his relief well hidden.  
  
"Good, good. However, the situation still stands," he said sadly. He shooed the nurse out of the room, and closed the door leaving behind a very confused Dorothy.  
  
'What situation?' she thought desperately. Dorothy closed her aching eyelids and tried to remember what had happened before she blanked out. 'Had it been Quatre who brought her here? Was she on Earth now?' Questions circled her head and just as she felt ready to scream, the door opened again.  
  
If she hadn't been bed-ridden, Dorothy would have jumped into the arms of the man who walked into her door. Before her stood Trowa, being led in by the doctor.  
  
"Miss, I hope you don't mind but this young man has been insisting to see you," the doctor said. Dorothy, her lips stinging, smiled. Trowa sat down in the armchair next to her bed. "Before I leave you two alone, I'd like to thank you young man, for getting this girl so fast for treatment." And with that, the doctor closed the door and left the two alone.  
  
Trowa kept his eyes on the floor, avoiding the sight of Dorothy. Her skin was a patchwork of white and light yellow and she looked frailer than ancient porcelain. However, the fighter that was this woman he was about to lose reigned inside still and Dorothy lifted her hand despite her body's protests and laid it over Trowa's. The stinging pain that traveled up her arm at the contact was bearable compared to the pleasure inside of her knowing that Trowa would not move his hand away.  
  
Trowa looked up at her, his green eyes sparkled with unshed tears. Dorothy lifted her other hand to caress his face however, her body was too weak and she fell short of her target.   
  
"Trowa?" she ventured, her voice hoarse, quiet, and shaking.   
  
"Dorothy, Quatre, he-" Trowa began but fell short at the hurt look in Dorothy's eyes. Her lips were severely chapped and it hurt her to speak but she knew that something needed to be said before Trowa went any further.  
  
"I didn't want him to kiss me, Trowa," she explained. Trowa shook his head, disbelieving. He still felt that Dorothy had feelings for Quatre but that it was his duty to keep her away from him, for her heart's safety.  
  
"You don't need to lie Dorothy," he replied, looking away from her pale blue eyes. However, Dorothy's hands reached for his face, this time reaching their target.  
  
"Look at me," she said, her whisper almost forceful. Trowa gave in and did so. "I didn't want him to kiss me, Trowa. I tried to make you stop from walking away but he kissed me again," she declared, her eyes sincere. Trowa closed his eyes, wishing that she would stop lying to him so wonderfully. However, as he closed his eyes his mind stumbled on the image of her and Quatre together.   
  
His initial take on the scene was of two lovers engaged in a passionate kiss, yet as he investigated the mental image, his mind ventured forth the obvious. Dorothy's look as Quatre kissed her hadn't been blissful; her eyes were tightly shut and her face was pinched in a grimace. Trowa's eyes opened to see Dorothy peering hopefully back at him.  
  
"I'm sorry Dorothy," Trowa whispered, leaning in and gently kissing her forehead. Dorothy's eyes closed in minimal discomfort and a pleasure that swept her away from that pain for a few moments before his lips left her skin.   
  
"Dorothy!" came a deep, baritone from the doorway. The couple turned quickly to see the last man they needed to see at that moment. Duke Dermail had made his presence known.   
  
"Grandfather!" Dorothy choked out in surprise before the burly man, in an extremely odd display of affection, swept the girl into a snug embrace. Trowa pulled back, stunned at the show. Dorothy's face squeezed into a tight grimace as waves of pain shot through her body at the feel of her Grandfather's arms clutching her close  
  
"I came as soon as Quatre phoned me in my meeting." The Duke gave Trowa a withering look from behind the screen of his granddaughter's hair.   
  
"Ahem." Came from the doorway. Trowa looked up again to see yet another person enter the room. However, this time it was the doctor.  
  
"Duke, it is a pleasure to see you," the doctor announced, bowing lightly at the waist. The Duke let go of his granddaughter quickly and bowed in return. Dorothy fell back into her pillows with a small groan of displeasure. "My Duke, I'm afraid I have bad news to deliver about the condition of your granddaughter." The doctor paused, as if wanting to add suspense to the declaration.  
  
"Well, hurry it up my good sir, I do not have all day!" the Duke exclaimed urgently. The doctor nodded rapidly.  
  
"Of course, forgive me. Dorothy's skin is regaining feeling and is still alive. However, we will still need to send her to Earth for recovery. Dorothy, you'll be sent to a hospital in Neo-Australia where they are already expecting your arrival."  
  
"When do I have to leave?" Dorothy inquired, her eyes on Trowa in a sorrowful look.  
  
"Tomorrow morning, as soon as the shuttle arrives."  
  
Sorry, I didn't want it to be so short but I needed to get this up and posted before I got too many reviewers climbing down my throat *rolls eyes* lol. Love y'all, I'll be updating soon!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	12. Rising Suspicions, Rising Suns

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Twelve: Rising Suspicion, Rising Sun  
  
Alright, before you all gang up on me, I have good excuse/reason for not updating for so long. However, due to its personal nature, I won't be posting the reason. Just know that there is one lol. Also, if you're a veteran and are reading this, thanks for sticking with me!!  
  
Keeping my fingers crossed for reviews!!  
  
Trowa felt like bashing his fist into someone's head. He thought he'd lost Dorothy to Quatre, then he almost lost her to frostbite, and now he was losing her to Earth, Quatre, and the Duke. And the last two were the two he'd like to bash his fists into the most. Something just wasn't right. Trowa wasn't a doctor but if her skin still had feeling, than wouldn't she be able to be treated here? If it still had feeling wasn't it possible that it wasn't as serious as they first thought? However, he had no time to ask these questions as Duke Dermail had now whisked the doctor away, the two talking animatedly about the financing of this excursion to Neo-Australia. That left Trowa alone with Dorothy again.  
  
"Dorothy-" Trowa began uncertainly, but Dorothy was struggling with her sheets and the thermal packs that had been warming her skin. "Dorothy Catalonia, what in the-" Trowa began to yell but was cut off by Dorothy's index finger. Motioning for him to stay quiet, Dorothy leaned in.  
  
"Trowa, the pain is hardly there anymore, how can they send me to Australia?" she whispered harshly. The gundam pilot was amazed to hear his lover repeat his thoughts almost perfectly. "I need to talk to Sally, she'll know what's really going on!"   
  
Dorothy made to walk to the door but was stopped by Trowa's lean body in front of her.  
  
"She isn't out there anymore."  
  
"Please don't tell me you believe this bull that my Grandfather is feeding everyone! Isn't it obvious that he's got that doctor wrapped up in this scheme?" she demanded. Trowa shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts. In the meantime, he set his hands on Dorothy's shoulders and turned her back towards the bed as he began to sit down himself.  
  
"Dorothy, I agree, of sorts. I don't think the doctor's in on this, he said before the Duke even got here that-"  
  
"It's Quatre!" Dorothy interrupted. Trowa looked up, his eyes green fire.   
  
"Quatre?" he asked, his tone cold. Dorothy nodded earnestly.  
  
"Trowa, there's something I need to explain. Quatre doesn't just want me in a romantic way, he-"  
  
"Well, I could tell by the way he was touching you that he wanted more than just a kiss, Dorothy," Trowa said.  
  
"No, he's been promised by my grandfather that he can have me in marriage if he supports the Romefellar Foundation financially, and I think he's now agreed to become apart of Grandfather's little Romefellar gang," the blonde said, her gray eyes focused on her bed sheets. Trowa's mind, already filled by the day's events, was now running mad. However, he forced himself to stay calm and keep his voice steady as he spoke.  
  
"And why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked, his voice breaking despite his best efforts. Dorothy looked up, looking ready to cry. And it was in that moment that Trowa flashed back to a time long before, a time in which the two had once sat discussing Quatre, a time in which the two barely knew each other, let alone themselves. In fact, there were two instances in which he'd discussed the same person with this same woman.  
  
On the Libra, although the victor, Dorothy had stood before him as though she had lost a great battle. She had cried then for Quatre. And then, two years later, it was in their apartment, on their couch, eating breakfast. It seemed like eons ago. She'd cried then for Quatre as well. Trowa had let her cry for the man twice now, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.  
  
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd tell him where I was," she said, her voice breaking with tears. Trowa's anger and cluttered thoughts vanished as he took Dorothy into his arms. Dorothy reveled in the fact that she was now firmly snuggled against Trowa, she felt protected again.  
  
"It doesn't hurt at all anymore," she whispered into his shoulder. Trowa smiled and stroked her hair. "Trowa?"  
  
"Hmm?" He pulled away slightly to look at her, all other thoughts completely forgotten. However, Dorothy had to bring back the memory that something needed to be done before the arrival of her shuttle.  
  
"You need to talk to Sally, find out as much as you can about frostbite. Maybe even have me transferred to her hospital? Please, I don't want to go to Earth," she pleaded. Trowa didn't need to be told twice. He dropped his arms and grabbed his jacket.  
  
"I will, and you'll be transferred long before that damn shuttle arrives too," he reassured her. Dorothy smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.  
  
"I'll be waiting right here then," she said, laughing. Trowa returned her kiss and left the room, heading off towards the parking lot as fast as he could. Since he didn't look back in fear of a delay, he never saw the Duke enter Dorothy's room almost as soon as he'd left it.  
  
"Dorothy, I'm afraid your shuttle will be arriving earlier than expected," Dermail said, his false concern only slightly hiding the malicious glint in his eyes that matched Dorothy's. The hopes that had been built up within her by Trowa's visit now seemed to fall to floor as doubt filled her mind. Her Grandfather sat down in the chair Trowa had occupied and he took her hand.   
  
"You know why I'm doing this don't you?" he said, his voice a whisper. Dorothy looked up at him from her sheets, her stare empty do to her lack of hope. He took it as a sign to continue. "I want you to be happy, my dear. You'll be happy with Quatre."  
  
Dorothy's temper flared. How dare he assume what would make her happy?! However, before she could voice her opinion, the doctor came back in and was beginning to pack the things that Dorothy would "need" for her trip. It was obvious that he was just packing them for show because he made no attempt to be delicate with the instruments that were going to "keep Dorothy's skin alive" as he handed them to the nurse.   
  
However, the syringe labeled simply "Sleep" was definitely not for show. As she watched them drive the needle into her vein her only thought was a prayer that Trowa would have her transferred in time. Distantly, as though under water, she heard the doctor talking to the nurse. With her mind clouded and their voices muffled she could only make out one sentence before she blacked out.  
  
"The shuttle will be here about the time the sun is due to rise today."  
  
***  
  
Trowa raced up the ramp of the underground parking lot of the hospital in the direction of the house shared by Wufei Chang and Sally Po. He knew that they'd probably be asleep by now, considering that it was sometime in the early hours of the day. Yet this was too important for common courtesy to really have much of an affect. For the first time in what seemed a very long time, although really it had only been a few hours, Trowa felt hopeful.   
  
Sally Po was an extremely influential doctor now, and due to her higher up status in the Preventers her say would have more weight than the doctor that was either gravely mistaken or under the ruling hand of Duke Dermail. And as an added bonus of course, she was a good friend of the couple.   
  
As the house came into view, Trowa slowed his speed and began to wonder how in the world he'd explain to Chang why he was asking for his girlfriend in the middle of the night. Turning off the car, he ran to the house door, passing the carefully trimmed lawn and garden. With one hand pounding on the white door and the other frantically pushing the doorbell button, Trowa was sure he'd be able to raise at least one of the two people sleeping within the house. This hope was reassured when he saw a light turn on in the window above him. Smiling, he stopped ringing and pounding and took a step back from the door.  
  
As he did, he noticed that he was able to see his surroundings better than he could at the parking lot of the hospital. Turning to what had to be the east he saw the artificial light sources that served as their sunlight began to boot up and turn on. Knowing that morning was fast approaching, Trowa began to pace on the doorstep, his hope slowly transforming to impatience.  
  
"Trowa? What's wrong?" Hilde's voice asked from the now open doorway. The pilot looked up.  
  
"Hilde?" he questioned. The black haired woman nodded sleepily, hiding a yawn.  
  
"We decided to stay with Wufei and Sally so we could see Dorothy off tomorrow. Trowa, what's wrong? Is Dorothy ok?" Hilde began to question again. Trowa shook his head hurriedly.  
  
"I need to see Sally, I don't want to have to explain it all twice, there's not enough time," he said, his eyes on the lights began to turn on in the east.  
  
Hilde nodded, and pulled away from the doorway to let him in. Trowa rushed past her and up the stairs, past a yawning and bedraggled Duo. Taking the steps three at a time, he reached the upper hallway to come face to face with a very tired looking Wufei Chang.  
  
"What's the meaning of this, Barton?" the Chinese man demanded. Trowa pushed him away and beckoned to Sally, who stood not far behind her boyfriend.  
  
"I have very little time to explain everything; Dorothy doesn't have to go to Neo-Australia, her skin is already healing. Sally, we need you to have her transferred to your hospital. This whole trip to Australia is just a last minute scheme of Quatre's to get Dorothy to go to Earth with him!" Trowa spat out as fast as he could. The group stood dumbfounded at the declaration. It was hard for them to soak in that Quatre was the bad guy in this situation.  
  
Duo was the first to speak.  
  
"How could Quatre set that all up so fast, Trowa? Don't you think it's a little silly blaming Quatre when-" he began, but Trowa cut him off.  
  
"Quatre drove himself to the hospital, no one was with him during that drive. He probably called the doctor's ahead of time and-"  
  
"So that's why the doctor's were already waiting for us when we got there," Sally said, her voice soft. She looked at Trowa, her eyes understanding the situation.  
  
"I'll call my office right now," she said and headed down the stairs, past Duo and Hilde.  
  
"So maybe Quatre called the doctors ahead of time so they knew we were coming, that doesn't mean he's paid them to send Dorothy to earth!" Duo tried again. This time it was Wufei who spoke.  
  
"But he has the means Duo and the motive." Duo stood on the steps looking up Wufei, his mouth opening and closing silently. However, he still refused to believe it.  
  
"So what?! We've got the means to destroy a colony, but do we?" he demanded. However, Hilde laid a hand on her fiancé's arm.  
  
"But do you have the motive, Duo?" she asked, her blue eyes staring into his violet ones. They softened and looked away, his logic accepting the obvious. All the weird things that he'd noticed about Quatre were piecing themselves together inside his mind's eye and it all made sense.   
  
"What can we do to help, Trowa my man?" he asked, his eyes smiling as he looked back up the stairs. Trowa was about to say that there wasn't much they could do when Sally came running to the foot of the stairs, her coat in hand.  
  
"My office said they're working on having Dorothy transferred right now. But I have to get down to her hospital to get Dorothy's permission to transfer her," she said, her voice falling back into the tone she'd used during their time as soldiers.   
  
"I'll go with you," Wufei said, pushing past Trowa, still in his pajamas. Trowa smiled down at the two gratefully.   
  
"I will as well. Trowa? Okay if I ride in with you?" Duo asked. The man nodded and the two made their way down the stairs together.  
  
"What about me?" Hilde demanded. Duo looked back at her and smiled reassuringly.  
  
"You stay here and sleep, you need as much rest-" But he was cut off by a flying slipper, professionally aimed.  
  
"I won't rest until Dorothy's back in a hospital we can trust," she declared and made her way out the doorway, pulling her jacket on as she went. Duo rubbed his head and shrugged, seeing no use in trying to stop his girlfriend.  
  
Trowa watched as the lights in the east began to get brighter and his friends slowly piled into the two cars to save Dorothy. He suddenly felt as though he was rushing into a battle again.   
  
"You better be waiting for me in that room, Dorothy Catalonia," he whispered, as he trotted to his car and started it.  
  
***  
  
"When does the Travel Restriction begin to take affect?" Duke Dermail asked of the blonde man sitting next to him in the waiting room. Quatre looked up, smiling triumphantly.  
  
"Tomorrow, at 6 o'clock sharp, colony time. Dorothy and I'll in Neo-France by then," he answered. The Duke nodded his head approvingly.   
  
"Good, good. Everything's going smoothly. But don't you dare go back on our deal now, boy," the Duke warned, his gray eyes icy. The Arabian's look was reassuring in its maliciousness as he smoothly pulled out the blood stained handkerchief that Dorothy had recognized only a few hours ago. The same kind of white handkerchief that Trowa had found on the android boy's arm the night that the New Faction tried to capture him. The same white handkerchief that marked each of its members as one of its own.  
  
Hehehehe, well now; Dorothy's in danger of becoming Quatre's wife (wish *I* got into that sort of danger!), Trowa and the gang are off to save Dorothy, and Quatre's become the Duke's little bitch. Isn't this a big mess? Please stick with me people!!   
  
Chapter 13 will be up along side of this one pretty soon; it is after all my cheating chapter in which I don't write anything to do with this chapter at all!! MWHA! I love you people, you know that right? Cya in Chapter 13!! 


	13. The Day Dorothy & Trowa Came to Visit

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 13: The Day Trowa and Dorothy Came to Visit!!! (Soon followed by everybody else)  
  
*This little interlude begins with Trowa, Dorothy, and Hotaru sitting in a conveniently placed void of complete whiteness*  
  
Trowa: I SIMPLY CANNOT WORK LIKE THIS!!!!  
  
Hotaru: -_-'  
  
Dorothy: -_-'  
  
Trowa: WELL! I CAN'T!!! I get scared out of my wits by her *points to Dorothy*, then she wants to move in with me, then we "fall" for each other…which I guess wasn't SO bad, but STILL!!! Now I have to save her from going to Earth and being married to Quatre?!?! When does the drama END?!?  
  
Dorothy: Well, since you've stopped talking, I'd say right about….*looks at watch*….now.  
  
Hotaru: I'm gonna remember that the next time the Jr. High girls start ranting and raving!  
  
Trowa: Hotaru, aren't you going to DO something about this?! You ARE the author!  
  
Hotaru: *Pause* Er- I say we get blitzed!  
  
Dorothy: *shrugs* That is the reason I came!  
  
Trowa: I cannot believe you people. *stomps off into the whiteness*  
  
*Quatre enters*  
  
Quatre: Am I interrupting anything?  
  
*Trowa stomps back in*  
  
Trowa: So NOW you're gonna be nice and sweet, HUH!!!  
  
Dorothy: SIT!!!  
  
*Trowa slams into the ground*  
  
Dorothy & Hotaru: O.o  
  
Dorothy: It worked!!  
  
*Kagome, from Inuyasha, enters*   
  
Kagome: Told ya.  
  
*Kagome exits*  
  
*Inuyasha enters*  
  
Inuyasha: *mutter* poor guy. I feel for ya Trowa!! Kagome: *offstage* SIT!!! I don't sit you THAT often!!  
  
*Inuyasha slams into the ground twice*  
  
*Duo and Hilde enter; Duo sees Inuyasha slam into the ground and breaks out into a dead sweat*  
  
Duo: Hilde, honey, how's about you and me go on back into the whiteness, hmm?  
  
Hotaru: Hilde, I'd like to extend my apology, yet again, for making you pregnant in my story. It's just, you've got Duo and well, he'd be the first to procreate out of any of the pilots!!  
  
Dorothy: *who has been drinking tequila shots the whole time* Here, here!!! Hilde gonna have a bab-ay!!  
  
Hotaru: -_-' Only in the story, Dorothy…  
  
Dorothy: *singing* NORTH!! To Alaska, We go NORTH!! The rush is on!!   
  
Inuyasha: *pulls himself up from the ground* Stupid, goddamn wench, I'll kill her….  
  
*Inuyasha exits*  
  
Hotaru: Erm- are we waiting for the whole gang to show up, or something?  
  
*As if on cue, Wufei, Heero, Sally, and Relena enter from whiteness stage left*  
  
Dorothy: *swinging her bottle* hehehe; Inuyasha's name comes up as Natasha in spell-check!  
  
Quatre: *sits down next to Dorothy; grabs bottle* Gimme some of that!  
  
Dorothy: HEY!!! GETYOUROWN!!!  
  
*Trowa pulls himself up from the ground*  
  
Trowa: Alright, this is getting too random-  
  
Dorothy: LIKE MONTY PYTHON!!!  
  
*Trowa pauses; glares at Dorothy; continues*  
  
Trowa: Like I said, its getting too random. Hotaru, I think we should now do what we all came here for. *sigh* I hate review times….  
  
Hotaru: You ARE correct sir!! *looks down at the board game that's materialized in front of her* advance two spaces!  
  
Heero: Let's just get on with this. We have more important things to do. *eyes up Relena, who ogles her own fair share as well*  
  
Relena: *now getting hot and breathless* Yes *gasp* let's get on with it!  
  
*Quatre, on the verge of being sick watching Heero and Relena, does what we all want to do and takes a large swig of the tequila bottle*  
  
Dorothy: CHUG!! CHUG!! CHUG!!! CHUG!CHUG!CHUG!!!!!!! *etc. etc.*  
  
Wufei: Silly woman…*Sally hits him hard* OOF!!  
  
Sally: ^-^  
  
Hotaru: Anyway; the whole point of this chapter-  
  
*BrenRick appears*  
  
BrenRick: You mean there IS a point to this chapter?  
  
Hotaru: grr… :P  
  
BrenRick: :P  
  
Hotaru: :P  
  
BrenRick: :P  
  
*Hotaru is about to stick out her tongue but ObiWanKanobe (sp?) from Star Wars appears and grabs her tongue*  
  
ObiWanKanobe: BrenRick, use the power of the force…and slice off her tongue!  
  
BrenRick: Gladly! *advances with a large knife that has also materialized out of the whiteness*  
  
Hotaru: MO!!! MOT MY MONGUE!!! MI MEED MAT MING!!!!  
  
*mariel4000 appears out of nowhere*  
  
mariel4000: REVIEWER TO THE RESCUE!!!! *proceeds to jump ObiWanKanobe and pummel him senseless*  
  
BrenRick: I wasn't *really* going to cut off your tongue y'know.  
  
Hotaru: :P Now then, the whole po- er- REASON behind this chapter was to thank my reviewers and those who have, according to my stats, put me on their favorite stories list! And so, I've asked the characters here, well…the GUNDAM WING characters to help me thank you all!!  
  
Sally: And to thank you all, we've devised a song that we'll sing for you now! Hit it children!!  
  
*Out of the whiteness has come a large, English style abbey choir box and in it are all the characters of GW in white choir robes, also materialized from the whiteness*  
  
Duo: Memememe!!  
  
Hilde: *in scales* Ah, uh, ah, uh, ah!!  
  
Heero: Ah.  
  
Trowa:…  
  
Relena: *like a bird* mmmMMMMmmm  
  
Hotaru: I FEEL GOOD-  
  
Marameia: DunaNunaNunaNah!!  
  
Hotaru: I KNEW THAT I WOULD NOW!!!  
  
Marameia: DunaNunaNunaNah!!  
  
Hotaru & Marameia: SO GOOD!!! DUNANUNANUNANAH!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!  
  
Trowa: dun…dun…dun….  
  
Heero: da.  
  
*Sally taps the choir box with a stick also generously provided by the whiteness*  
  
Sally: Are we ready?  
  
Dorothy: *swaying* Re-*hic*-ady Freddy!!!  
  
Quatre: *leaning on Dorothy, also swaying* Is this the Plan, Stan?  
  
*Dorothy laughs uncontrollably*  
  
Trowa: Let's just get this over with!  
  
Sally: A 1, 2, A 1, 2, 3, 4!!!  
  
ALL: *to the tune of an Irish Drinking song*  
  
OHHH!!!! VEGA 03, YOU"RE SIGNED REVIEWS KEEP US HAPPY!!   
  
AND MARIEL4000, WITH HER CHEERY POV KEEPS US--  
  
Dorothy: *drunken* perfectly slappy!!!!  
  
ALL: AND IF WE DON'T UPDATE, SHERRI WILL HUNT US DOWN AND MAKE US TAKE AN- Quatre: *also drunken* eternal nappy!!!!  
  
Duo & Hilde: *duet to the tune of Beauty School Dropout* Ooohhhh,…Sailor J-chan/DuoxHilde 4ever!!! We love you…cuz you…dun.dun.dun. Love us too!!!  
  
ALL: *like a choir of angels* PENNBEE OF TREEWOOD, YOUR CRITQUE KEEPS US IN LINE!!!  
  
AND MYSTIC-GOHAN148 THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE ME ON AUTHOR ALERT IS DIVINE!!!!  
  
HEY SCILENCER003, YOUR REVIEW IS LIKE WATER TO A FISH!!! AND SILVER SERPENT'S WISHES FOR LUCK MAKES US FEEL LIKE WE'RE IRISH!!! Dorothy & Quatre: *Swinging their shared bottle of tequila* Which we are, btw!!!  
  
Wufei: *under his breath* Can't you tell?  
  
ALL: *in doo wop style* HEY BABY, YEAH BABY, DOOOO oooHHH WAH!! HEY MR. ADRELLIEHS, YOUR WORDS MAKE US FEEL BETTER!  
  
AND HONEY, OUR BRENRICK, YOU COULD MAKE US FAINT WITH JUST..ONE..LETTER!!! OW!!!!!  
  
*whole group slows down*  
  
Doooo do wop, doooo do wop, dooooooWOW!!! Wow, wow, wow, yeah!!  
  
Dorothy & Quatre: *off key* AND THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS!!! IT JUST GOES ON AND ON MY FRIENDS!!!!! *Trowa throws a shoe* *THUD* *Afore mentioned shoe hits poor Quatre in the head and knocks him unconscious*  
  
*Dorothy points and laughs, blacks out herself*  
  
Trowa: That takes care of that.  
  
*Trowa exits*  
  
Hotaru: Again, thanks to all my reviewers, I wrote this song just for you guys!! A special shout out now goes to Quest For The Knowledge who, according to my stats, has my story in his favorites *bows* thank you, thank you!!! And also to my good friend PixieWhitefeather!! If you haven't read that lady's stories, go! Now! You know not what you miss!   
  
Also, if you are a reviewer and you have accounts here on FF.net, TELL ME!!! I wanna return the favor you guys have done me and review some of YOUR stories!! So let me know when you write something, k?  
  
Love you all, Chapter 14 will be up in no time!! 


	14. A Villain and a Hero Go to Earth But Whe...

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Fourteen: A Villain and a Hero Go to Earth, But Where is Our Damsel?  
  
Technically, this is Chapter 13, but heheheh, oh well!! Hope you liked my little song, I know, I have no life! Since the plot is finally starting to climax, I'm gonna start writing at a faster pace and so you can expect chapters to come flying out of my word processor like Frisbees. Enjoy!  
  
The makers of the colonies had long before decided that each colony would recreate life on Earth as much as possible. Thus, they came up with the gigantic sun lamps that kept vegetation living and thriving on the colony. Although they did not have the wondrous colors during their "sunrises" and "sunsets", the lights did imitate the gradual lightening and darkening of light.  
  
As Sally, Wufei, Trowa, Duo, and Hilde made their way to the hospital that, hopefully, still housed their friend Dorothy, the exponential lightening of a colony sunrise that usually signified a good day was now an ominous sign that made both Wufei and Trowa's right feet press harder on their gas pedals. The two cares were both silent on the inside save for the rustling in the Chang/Po car as Sally hurriedly looked through papers on frostbite.  
  
Reading in a car often made Sally nauseas but she put that aside for what was currently at stake. Finally, finding the essay she wanted, she began deciphering it aggressively. By the end of the 3rd paragraph she'd found what she needed to overturn Dorothy's doctor's initial diagnosis; simply put, if the skin still had the ability to feel then it could be successfully treated at the hospital on the northern end of the colony. In fact, transporting Dorothy to Neo-Australia could maker her situation worse by damaging the skin. Sally pulled out the cell phone that was inside Wufei's glove compartment.  
  
"Vickie? Get me Dr. Fuhrman, now!" Sally ordered over the phone that was now connected to her office. Wufei heard a pause over the phone as Vickie hurried to pull Dr. Fuhrman out of a conference with the current residents of the hospital. Glancing at Sally's drawn face, he gave her a reassuring smile as he pulled into the ramp of the parking lot of the hospital.  
  
Trowa was out of his car first, jogging across the cement lot towards the underground entrance of the hospital. Without even looking at his face, the group knew he was bound and determined to get to Dorothy as fast as was humanly possible. The whole group moved as one towards the door, only moments behind Trowa. In the gundam pilot's mind was a repeating movie of sorts merging the happy moments with Dorothy. Finding her in his niche, "fighting" with her in the coffee shop, the night they moved in and the morning afterwards…the night they first kissed and shared a bed together…the guitar "lesson"…there were just too many moments he had in his mind that he couldn't just pass up the chance to make more happy ones. Each moment was another log to the fire driving him onwards.  
  
***  
  
Quatre made his way from the waiting room to the new room that now held the sleeping Dorothy. He had been up all night back at her apartment packing her things while Trowa sat, clueless, moping around the girl. His spies, although a bit of a hindrance to him due to their own personal connections to the Duke, still served the purpose he needed them to do and he made sure that they were well paid for it before his departure. In fact, he'd made sure everything was ready before his departure. Now he just needed to say goodbye.  
  
He smiled gently as he closed and locked the door behind him. He had to admit to himself that calling the Duke on his way to the hospital to turn Dorothy's situation their way was genius. However, as he sat down on her bed he frowned at the fact that he would still not be able to share a flight to Earth with his soon to be bride. Tenderly, he stroked her platinum hair, letting the silky strands fall slowly through his fingers. Smoothly, savoring his few moments with Dorothy alone, he leaned down and laid a kiss on her forehead.  
  
"You'll understand all of this someday, my darling," he whispered, his tone sweeter than it had been in years. If Dorothy had been awake to hear those words she would have compared that voice to the tone he used during their casual chats in the somewhat peaceful year after the end of the war. Quatre continued stroking her hair, his hands occasionally brushing the smooth skin of her face.  
  
"Yes, one day all of this will make sense and we'll look back on all of this and laugh…" he trailed off as he caught sight of his watch. It was now 6:45 and his shuttle left in half and hour. Dorothy would then take the next flight with her grandfather. Leaning down for another kiss, he whispered the sweetest thing he'd said in two years.  
  
"I love you Dorothy Catalonia."  
  
And Quatre Winner left the room, his eyes holding once again the soft, aquamarine blue they once had at the age of fifteen.  
  
Quatre said his goodbyes to the Duke Dermail and probably would have passed Trowa and his band of rescuers if Fate hadn't stepped in and told the group to take the stairs while Quatre took the elevator. The Duke had arranged for Dorothy to be moved to a more private room where she wouldn't be "bothered" with visitors. The two planners of this excursion to Earth knew that one of the group from the party would sooner or later figure out what was going on and so took the extra precaution.   
  
They had also informed the nurses that if anyone of them were to so much as utter a single word as to the where Dorothy was, they'd lose much more than just their jobs. So the two men felt very reassured that their sleeping princess was perfectly safe.  
  
However, as Quatre pulled his car onto the street that was connected to the parking lot, he had no way of knowing the chaos that was about to ensue due to his careful planning.  
  
***  
  
"Sami? Yes, this is Sally, I need you to email the East Side Colonial Hospital right away…..No! I don't care about the damn residents, this is important….I need you to send them an official transfer form right away, send it to the Lobbyist desk…yes, I'm there right now…Arigatou!"   
  
Trowa faintly heard the choppy conversation between Sally and her co-worker as he began taking stairs up to the lobby of the hospital two at a time. Wufei and Duo were close behind him, as was Hilde, who surprised everyone with her agility despite being close to 7 months pregnant. Once they'd reached the lobby, Sally pushed ahead of them all with a great surge of energy and began talking animatedly with the Receptionist.  
  
Although Sally had pushed them back away from her, Trowa could still make out the dialogue of the two women.  
  
"What do you mean she's not here anymore?!" Sally screamed. Trowa closed his eyes, suddenly feeling defeated.  
  
"I'm sorry, but Dorothy Catalonia's shuttle departed close to a half hour ago," the Receptionist said, trying to remain calm in the presence of this close to hysteric group. With his eyes closed, Trowa only heard Wufei rush up to the desk to put in his two cents.  
  
"That's impossible, shuttle flights don't leave until 7!" he cried. However, it was no use. The Receptionist continued to look through the computer files to no avail. Dorothy Catalonia was no longer at their hospital.  
  
"We were too late," Trowa whispered. Everything that had happened between he and Dorothy might as well have never happened. It would be at least 6 months before transportation between colonies was reopened to the public and due to his Preventer job he wouldn't be able to go to Earth and be back to the colonies before the next day's 6:00 P.M. deadline. 6 months in which time Dorothy would be manipulated and controlled by that freak he had once called friend.  
  
However, he had one more chance and he couldn't let it pass him by. Without waiting around for his companions, he leapt up and ran for the door, scaring an elderly couple as he passed. It was 6:49, he might be able to get to the dock before 7:00!  
  
Sally turned just in time to see the last trace of Trowa fly out the door. She smiled and silently wished him luck before turning to the Receptionist again.  
  
"Are you positive that Dorothy's been signed out of this hospital?" she asked the woman. The woman frowned, her young face twisting with frustration as she turned to her computer. Her frown deepened as her computer turned out the information that she knew was correct but could not tell to the woman in front of her.  
  
The computer said in plain English that Dorothy Catalonia was indeed still checked in at the hospital and that she hadn't been signed out yet. However, the threat that hung over her head prevented her from telling the truth.  
  
"I'm positive Miss, Ms. Catalonia has been signed out," she lied. She looked up over the desk and her eyes briefly locked with the Chinese man that stood behind the blonde woman who was so insistent in find Dorothy. His black eyes burned through her own green ones and she had to look down at her keyboard to escape their grasp. He knew that she was lying.  
  
"Is there anyone else we could check with?" the man asked, his voice calm but icy. The woman focused on her computer screen so she wouldn't need to look at the man that scared her so much. She swallowed, frightened that she might spill the secret that she'd been forced to keep. Frantically, she searched her mind for a name, for someone that she could pass these people on to so she wouldn't need to deal with them.  
  
"You could speak with Dr. Seamus, according to this he was the one treating her," she squeaked out. "He's currently in room 13A, I can page him if you like," she said, trying to make it up to these people. It didn't seem to fair to her to keep their friend's whereabouts secret from them.   
  
"13A? We'll find it ourselves, thank you," Wufei answered, and he led them away, Sally beside him.   
  
13A wasn't hard to find, with doctors rushing in and out of its open door. Dr. Seamus was a bit harder to find amongst the sea of white lab coats and blue and green scrubs. However, Wufei and Duo were trained to find people and, like experts of Where's Waldo Books, they found the man sitting in a cozy armchair, chatting amiably with a nurse in pink scrubs. Upon spotting the grim looking group, the nurse politely, but hurriedly, excused herself. That left Dr. Seamus to deal with the people himself.  
  
***  
  
Trowa was pulling into the parking lot of the dock at the same time that Quatre was having his baggage checked at the V.I.P. port. The two men, although separated by the great expanse of the dock, wore the same set expression. Quatre looked around him as he entered his gate. Nothing out of place met his gaze but as he walked through the shuttle doors he couldn't help but wonder if he'd missed something, if something had gone wrong. The man glanced at his ticket and frowned as he sat down. There had been something he missed.  
  
He and Dorothy would be leaving from the same gate; if someone had followed him here they could easily intercept her. Being a diplomat to Earth had its advantages, including a window seat and as he looked out he still could not spot anything out of the ordinary. The engines began to hum as the gateway that led through the thick colony wall opened to let the shuttle shoot out into space. Quatre closed his eyes and leaned back, preparing himself to relax the rest of the way to Earth.  
  
Trowa ran through the docks, passing various gates and losing hope with each one that showed no evidence of Dorothy's presence. If she had already gone to Earth with Quatre… Trowa sat down on an uncomfortable plastic seat, running over in his mind the possible situations.  
  
The lack of movement was a signal to memories to overflow his mind's eye and overflow they did. His mind could barely think for the pictures that swamped him on the inside. The most dominant image was of Dorothy's face before they would kiss, as they fell asleep, as they woke up… Would he ever see her face again? It wasn't like Earth was really that far away but with transportation closed for at least half a year, would she even want to see him again? Maybe, just maybe, she still did harbor feelings for Quatre and just denied them and perhaps six months alone with him would bring those feelings to the surface; leaving Trowa alone.  
  
Not being able to take the memories or the possible scenarios, Trowa stood up and began to pace. Looking around, he spotted the people who had been affected by the restriction on transportation; families that were separated by space had decided to be together during the next few months, lovers on different jobs were now meeting each other in the dock. One couple reminded him of Heero and Relena, who would be meeting again face to face for the first time in 3 months on Earth tomorrow. Another couple looked at each other sorrowfully as they let each others hands go and the man walked through the gate, looking back at the woman. She was crying and he looked on the verge of tears as he waved goodbye.  
  
Trowa had seen enough. He was buying the next ticket to Neo-Australia and following his love. To hell with his job, his life, his responsibilities. Dorothy meant more to him than money, she was his life, and dammit all, she was his responsibility!   
  
My, my, my!! Quatre goes to Earth, Trowa thinks that Dorothy's on Earth so Trowa's going to Earth, but where is Dorothy? Back at the hospital… Will our heroes ever be together again? Will we find out just why Quatre's suddenly not so mean? Will Duke Dermail decide on either Viagra or Zrytec? Er- heheheh, *ahem* never mind!  
  
Love you all!!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	15. Departure

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Departure  
  
As the action increases, bits will become choppier so as to keep the pace moving back and forth and so ya'll be on your toes!! :D Cuz I want you to ballet stars, y'know! Sorry if the choppy plot disturbs you!!  
  
  
  
Dr. Seamus gulped the rest of his soda down nervously as his brown eyes watched the group standing before him. Each one wore a steady glare that rivaled steel in its strength. Slowly, delaying the inevitable, he pulled his plastic cup away from his lips and set it down on the counter. He glanced up at them again and smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes.  
  
"This room isn't open to the public, so I'll have to ask you to-" he began but Wufei grabbed his lab coat collar and picked him up. The Dr. hadn't been expecting this reaction in the least, nor was he expecting it when Wufei slammed him into the cupboard behind him. Yet just when he was starting to expect his death, did salvation step in. Sally, or as Dr. Seamus recognized her as Dr. Po, stepped forward and laid a firm hand on Wufei's forearm. She gave him a small, sweet smile before turning on Seamus with a fierce glare.  
  
"Start talking Seamus, where is Dorothy Catalonia?" she demanded. Dr. Seamus near fainted when he felt Wufei shake him but remained conscious somehow.   
  
"I really don't have any idea as to what you are-"  
  
SLAP!  
  
The heads of the group all turned in the direction of Sally, who had slapped the Dr. with all her might. Even Wufei, who had experienced numerous slaps like it was surprised.   
  
"Shut it, we know what's going on. Now we need to know where she is. We're transferring her now," she added. Dr. Seamus gulped again, this time in fear. His eyes turned to Wufei, who had recovered from his surprise and was staring down the doctor. Averting his eyes from the Chinese man, he turned to the two standing behind Sally; Duo and Hilde gave him no solace either in their expressions. He nodded finally and Sally signaled Wufei to let the man go.  
  
Straightening his collar and clearing his throat, Dr. Seamus frantically looked for an escape route but to no avail. He knew that telling these people would cost him his job and the payment he'd been promised by Duke Dermail, but that was the price, he reasoned, for his life. For Wufei Chang looked deadly serious.  
  
"We've taken her to Room 709 but she should have already been moved again to Room 813. We've been moving her so…" But the brilliant scheme of moving Dorothy around so no one could find her went unheard for the group had already taken off for Room 813.  
  
  
  
"Room 810, 812..." Duo read quietly as they walked down a near abandoned hallway of the older wing of the hospital.   
  
"Room 813, she's in here!" Hilde cried. The group rushed in to find Dorothy sleeping peacefully on a small cot in the room. Duo pushed forward and picked her up gently before turning to Sally. Dr. Po stepped forward and began checking Dorothy over to make sure she was all right, then made a motion of her head for Duo to move forward.  
  
"We'll take her to the hospital and get her situated. Duo, we'll use one of this hospital's transport vans.   
  
But I want you take my car to the dock and find Trowa!" Sally ordered, heading off for where the transport vans most likely were. Duo followed, running as fast as he could with Dorothy's weight in his arms.   
  
Once they had reached a reliable transport van, Duo took off in the direction of the parking lot. Wufei watched him go with a glare that rivaled the one he'd given Dr. Seamus. As soon as Maxwell was out of sight he turned his glare on his girlfriend.  
  
"You let him take *my* car?"  
  
***  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but the last flight to Earth is all booked up at the moment," the young man behind the airline counter informed Trowa. The gundam pilot banged his fist on the slab of smoothed over metal that separated this infuriating man and his computer from him.  
  
"Isn't there some other opening!?" he demanded, his emerald eyes fire.  
  
Panicked clicking of a keyboard replied but the young man's shake of the head was his final answer. Trowa groaned and pulled away from the counter, frustrated more than he'd ever felt in his life. The urge to pull this man over the counter and bash his perfectly trimmed head and face into the wall was overpowering his sense of reason. However, he remained calm and set his face. He pulled a pen and piece of paper off the counter and scribbled down his cell phone number.  
  
"This is my cell phone number, call me if anything opens up and I mean *anything*!" And with a threatening glare, he passed the paper and pen over the counter. Unseen by the other passer bys was a $50 dollar bill tucked beneath the paper. The young man nodded with a disgusting grin and memorized the number before slipping it into his pocket, along with the money.   
  
Trowa walked away, part of him triumphant, part of him disgusted, and part of him sick with apprehension.  
  
***  
  
  
  
The sense of urgency that surrounded Duo and the car he was driving seemed palpable as he navigated his way through the streets of the colony. Although he'd tried to restrain his reckless driving ways, he felt that now was a good time to unleash the pent up driving monster. However, with an iota of caution he had the foresight to put on his seat belt. (A golden star for Duo!)   
  
He'd reached the last intersection that stood between him and the docks and, hopefully, Trowa. Yet as he neared the crosswalk the yellow light that he'd been so desperately hoping to fly through betrayed him and turned red, forcing him to come to a screeching halt. Unfortunately, the car behind him did not have the lead foot that Duo had been blessed with and Duo was sent flying forward as Wufei's car was rear-ended by a red and white Chevy Malibu.   
  
"Shit!" Duo cursed, his eyes wild. He could see the docks from where he was, yet now he'd probably lose precious time having to deal out the insurance information he didn't have.   
  
***  
  
Sally looked back at Dorothy, making sure she was all right. With one last smile to Hilde, Sally turned back to Wufei.   
  
"Do you have your cell phone with you?" she asked, her tone quiet despite the loud tension in the car. Wufei nodded and gestured towards the glove compartment, his black eyes focused on the highway that stretched from the main colony's city to the suburbs and eventually the Sally's place of work. Sally smiled her gratitude and opened the compartment and shuffled momentarily for the phone before pulling out the small silver contraption and quickly dialing Trowa's cell.   
  
"C'mon, pick up Trowa," she whispered into the receiver. However, the little black phone rang on into the silence of Trowa and Dorothy's abandoned apartment. The echo of the cell tried in vain to fill the void that had been created by the absence of the two lovers' presence. The Christmas decorations seemed to droop as the phone rang on.  
  
"He must have forgotten it on the kitchen table, he always does," came Dorothy's weakened voice from the backseat. Sally turned 180 degrees in her seat to look at the girl who was now propped up against Hilde's shoulder. The blonde girl laughed half-heartedly at the memories of the times Trowa had forgotten his phone and had to come back in a flurry of cuss words and tantrums that were so cute that the often led to interludes of kisses and nuzzling.   
  
"Where is he?" she asked, suddenly feeling the complete absence of his presence from her. She'd become so accustomed to him being around her in such a short time that she could not imagine being without him now. Sally's face fell at the question and her blue eyes were brimming with tears.  
  
"He's at the docks, Dorothy."  
  
***  
  
Trowa looked out on the departing space ships. Within the hour and half that he'd been at the docks he'd seen dozens of couples torn apart by this stupid idea of Quatre's. The young man snorted disgustedly at himself for falling for Winner's ploy and for letting him get under his skin so. He turned from the large thick paneled windows and sat in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs that characterized the docks of every colony. He surveyed his surroundings for what seemed the billionth time but nothing seemed to change. The faces all seemed to stay the same although he knew this was impossible for thousands of those faces were leaving each half hour. And as the startling reality of just how many people were leaving the docks each hour, a growing suspicion of the ticket teller's honor began to rise within him.  
  
With a small piece of hope he reached into his jeans pocket and searched for his for his cell phone. Yet when the cool, black plastic didn't meet his fingers he stood and reached deeper yet into his pockets, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't done what he thought he'd done.  
  
"SHIT!!" he cried aloud, kicking his bolted down chair. His outburst made several of the awaiting people around him to jump up in surprise and even back away from this disheveled looking young man. Trowa looked about himself, a crazed glaze falling over his green eyes. He ran another hand down his jacket pocket, hoping to find his phone but it was no use, he'd left it at the apartment yet again.   
  
He ran his other hand through his mussed up hair and over his unshaven face. He realized just how crazy he must look at that moment but the thought was hastily pushed aside as it occurred to him that he'd been wasting precious time that was giving Quatre a more than necessary head start. Knowing that Dorothy was stuck with that thing that his best friend had become was enough drive to kick start Trowa into motion.  
  
His pace started as a quick walk but soon he found himself running for the ticket teller's station. Within only a few minutes he found himself glaring at a blazing orange "Out To Lunch" sign. Cursing the ticket teller's union** that deemed his lunch break be so damned early, he pushed away from the counter and ran to another. However, the absurdly young girl behind the counter was much too preoccupied with who Terry was no dating and whom Sami was interested in. Trowa felt like screaming at these people, crying out his story but just as he opened his mouth his green eyes caught sight of yet another couple clutching to each other's arms. He turned to get a good look at them.  
  
The young man's blue-gray eyes seemed to absorb the tears the girl was letting fall down her reddened cheeks. He ran his slender fingers through her short brown hair and gave her a forced smile, which she tried to return. She put her hand up to his shoulder and affectionately tugged at his somewhat long light brown hair in an effort to keep their parting from being so entirely tragic. He smiled and pulled her hand away from his neck to kiss it, before kissing her on the forehead. Their kiss seemed to pause time and the only thing Trowa could see move was the last single crystal tear fall from her left eye. He watched that tear, fascinated at how similar these two seemed to be to he and Dorothy. He hung his head, time still moving sluggishly. He needed to be with Dorothy and these two needed to be together; he knew the solution.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Duo glowered at the retreating back of the greasy man who had cursed him out for what seemed like days all because of a little dent. 'At least he doesn't have a Chinese man who'd be more than willing to use a black belt on him waiting for him,' he wanted to scream. However, after a grueling two hours of negotiating with the man over telephone numbers and money amounts he was free to find Trowa. He looked over the dock's parking lot and the sense of urgency that had driven him so fast 120 minutes before now only increased as it occurred to him just how immense the docks were and just how small one person was…He was looking for a piece of hay in a stack of needles.  
  
**I'm all for the union people, but you gotta poke fun at it occasionally!! :D  
  
Hope you liked, and that you aren't ready to kill me for taking so long to put up this chapter!! Love you all!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	16. Pt 1 Learning Scales of Hope in Faith Ma...

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 16: FINE TUNING: Part 1: Learning Scales of Hope in Faith Major  
  
Hello again!! Hopefully no one's too mad about how short Chap. 15 was! To make up for the shortness of Chap. 15, I'm making the final chapter EXTRA long; in fact, I've broken it up into three parts. It'll be then shortly followed by the epilogue. So for those of you good at literary math, that means we are nearing the end sniff. But all good things have to come to an end!  
  
Being the second tallest gundam pilot of the group of five gave Duo a small advantage as he entered the oddly quiet crowd that seemed to fill every space imaginable from wall to wall in side the building that housed the docks. Yet the pushing, shoving, and very hard baggage that seemed to be attracted to Maxwell's shins countered his advantage, leaving him red in the face and quite angry. So it was no surprise when he felt like snapping at the ticket teller in front of him.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but I haven't seen your friend this morning," a young blonde huffed in what had to be a Valley Girl accent if Duo had ever heard one. He growled unpleasantly, and fixed her with a cerulean blue glare that rivaled Heero Yuy's Infamous Death Glare.   
  
"Are you sure? This is a VERY important matter, miss," he stressed. Brown eyes rolled up towards hideous brown eyebrows that clashed with her dyed hair.   
  
"I've told you for the millionth time, I haven't-"  
  
"I've seen him," a young man's voice jutted in. Duo looked up and groaned. He'd gone from the blow up doll that talked to her Ken playmate. Pretty boy surprised him however and pushed the blonde girl out of the way and grabbed the picture out of Duo's hand.  
  
"Yeah, that's definitely him alright, weird bangs and all," he muttered, handing the photo back. Duo nodded, feeling his luck finally turn around for him.  
  
"When did you see him?"   
  
"About an hour or so ago, he needed a ticket for Earth really bad and he gave me his cell phone number. Told me to call him if anything opened up. I got reassigned to the ticket counters at the other end of the docks and found that something had opened up but when I tried to call him I didn't get an answer; although it's possible he's already onboard a ship and had to turn his phone off," the teller informed him. Duo's heart sank. If Trowa had gotten on a ship then many things would turn out wrong for his friend; his position at the Preventers would be threatened despite his close ties to Lady Une, Dorothy wouldn't be able to make the rent on their apartment, and most importantly, the two of them wouldn't be able to see each other again until the terrorists were tracked down in the colonies, which at the most would take a year.  
  
Duo had never been one to sit around and mope about his situation, especially when there was still the chance that Trowa hadn't gotten on a ship yet. But the thought that one of his best friends might not be there for the birth of his baby and to stand up at his wedding tore at his already scarred heart. He felt like sitting down right there while all the people waiting in line behind him stood and stared down at him, he didn't care. This just couldn't be happening.  
  
"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?" the young man asked, his eyes filling with worry. Duo shook his head, his face looking like a blank canvas that had been brought to a brand new, never before seen art studio. His eyes seemed to be trying to memorize each nook and cranny so that he could remember the day the world fell around him. At length he turned back to the ticket teller.  
  
"There is one thing you can do for me," he murmured dejectedly. He pulled over a scrap of paper and pen and wrote down his cell phone number and handed it back. "Call me if you learn anything more. And don't worry, I have my phone with me," he assured the man. He pushed off from the counter and walked aimlessly away into the crowd towards the gates. Urgency trickled out of every pore and opening in Duo's body as he walked away, an odd, strained calm filled the space around him. At each gate that he passed, he raised his eyes to check for the familiar stance of Trowa but to no avail. It was like his best friend had died.  
  
Luckily for our hero, Trowa was not dead but happened to be at the very last gate of the docks. Before we continue, an explanation of the docks layout is in order so that we can better understand why Trowa is so far away from Duo at the moment. The docks, for simplicity sake, should be imagined as a rectangle that's been curved to fit along the outer wall of the colony. Along the smaller ends of this concave rectangle are the ticket teller counters on both sides and along the outer curved section of the docks lie the gates that open up to the shuttles awaiting to transport people and cargo to Earth. When we last left Trowa he was at the ticket teller counter on the far left side of the docks, nearest to the last gate. Unfortunately for nail biters, Duo is on the other end, closest to the first gate.  
  
While Duo seems to be getting a very short stick indeed, Trowa thinks he's getting the luckiest break he's had since he first saw Dorothy stretched out on the sofa in his niche at the bookstore so long ago.   
  
Trowa looked back at the retreating couple with a smile and soft look of his green eyes. The man had been assigned to an engineering job on Earth in Neo-America while the woman had to stay behind due to a lack of money to pay for both their fares to Earth. However, once Trowa had recounted his story to the two, offered them sufficient down payment there, and a promise of reimbursing them not only for the ticket cost but for the money he would have earned on Earth, the two were more than happy to take the chance to remain with each other.   
  
"Thank you once again!" he cried after them in joy. The two looked over their shoulders and waved, smiling.  
  
"Enjoy Earth for us!" the man shouted back. He seemed to speak for the two of them, since she seemed too choked up to talk, let alone shout. Yet she gave Trowa the best smile she could and waved her thanks vigorously while holding his hand. They turned again and kept walking, arms twined around each other; happy to be together and happy to give two others the chance to be together.  
  
Trowa waved one last time, his earlier frustration melting away completely. It was now replaced with a new hope, a lightness filling his whole body because he knew that saving Dorothy was know in his reach. This whole time that she'd been with Quatre would be duly made up for with hours of holding her close and never letting her out of his sight again. He turned away from the entrance to the gate and sat down on a chair. The couple were going to change the man's name on the ticket over to his own and all Trowa had to do was sit and wait for his name to be called. He finally got his break from Knight in Shining Armor duty.  
  
With Trowa taking a break from being hero for awhile, the duty gets passed on to the closest gundam pilot at the moment; Duo Maxwell who was now passing by Gate 24, the middle point of the docks. As he walked past he looked inside the entrance to the gate, the hope that rose a level within him each time peaking as he passed the doorway. However, it fell exponentially further than it originally been when Trowa evaded his sight yet again. Hanging his head and slumping his shoulders, the pilot who was known for his cheery out look on life was already mourning the temporary loss of his friend. He felt ready to give up his search and call Sally to tell her to give Dorothy the bad news.  
  
With Trowa on Earth it wouldn't be so bad, Duo reasoned. The two wouldn't be separated forever. However, a year was a long time for two young lovers to be away from each other; Duo remembered how hard it had been being away from Hilde for only a few months and he was still able to at least talk to her over vid-phone. No, no matter how temporary this separation would be, it was still a separation the two didn't deserve and so Duo couldn't give up. Picking up his head, he marched on towards Gate 25 and when that showed no sign of Trowa he only let it roll of him as he moved on.  
  
The couple that had given Trowa their ticket to Earth were passing by the right side of Gate 27 and entering Gate 26 when the passed our current hero Duo.  
  
"I can't believe he's following her all the way to Earth," a woman's voice floated on the air as the two passed by him. Duo's inherent good ears pricked but he only listened casually as he kept walking.   
  
"I'd have done the same," the man interjected with a wolfish grin and a nudge to his girlfriend's ribs. She laughed, her eyes still red from crying.  
  
"But would your hair have looked so good doing it?" she joked, tugging at his hair. Duo stopped in his tracks and turned in the direction of the couple. The man brushed aside the girl's hand and gave her a mock glare as his hands descended to tickle her sides. Her laughter and pleas only made the man laugh along with her as he pulled her into their 22nd hug within that short time of meeting Trowa.   
  
"Excuse me, but is the man you're talking about look like this?" Duo asked the two as he approached them and handed them the photo. The man stopped his merciless tickling to look at the photo.  
  
"Yes," he said, slightly out of breath from laughter. "Why?"  
  
"He's a good friend of mine and certain circumstances have made his current path a bit unfavorable," Duo replied, trying to be as vague as possible. "Do you know what gate he's leaving from and when?"  
  
"Gate 48 but he should be leaving in," the man paused to check his watch, "10 minutes. Why is him going to Earth 'unfavorable'?" he questioned but Duo had already taken off down the hallway towards Gate 48.  
  
Hilde watched as Wufei gently picked up Dorothy and carried her from the car to an awaiting wheelchair at the front entrance of the hospital. Sally was already rushing inside to prepare treatment for her friend. The German girl followed closely behind, not letting her precious extra weight slow her down. Although logic told her that Duo might not be able to reach Trowa in time, the instinct of a mother-to-be told her never to lose hope, especially in the father of her child. Hilde's hope was strong and she knew that she'd need that strength to keep Dorothy's hopes up until Trowa returned. Should it take him a few hours or a few months, Hilde would be there to help.  
  
Dorothy felt sluggish and limp as Wufei rushed her down the corridor. These were probably effects of the drugs she'd been administered earlier but she currently blamed their mental effects on the lack of Trowa. Closing her gray eyes was the only thing her foggy mind could think of to do to fight off the terrifyingly wonderful memories she had of her and Trowa, she was frightened now more than ever came the wispy conclusion as they set her down in her own bed in a quiet wing of the hospital. She was more afraid now of losing Trowa than she had been of losing her independence to a man, more afraid now than she was when it was possible she'd become Quatre's wife. Trowa was her life support now, the only fish in the sea that would help her when she started drowning.   
  
She opened her eyes to find a world that was obviously moving fast but to her was moving painfully slow. She was suddenly reminded of the night Trowa had chased after that android and she had to run to their apartment to call for help. It seemed like decades ago and at the time those few seconds felt like days. Dorothy rolled her limp head towards Hilde who was standing in the doorway and fixed her with a questioning face. If a few seconds felt like days and a few months felt like decades, what would this possible year without Trowa feel like? How old would she feel when she finally got to hold him again, kiss him, tickle him, simply be with him again? The questions in her head went unanswered by Hilde but her face did not. It beckoned the pregnant woman over to her like a child's cry and she pulled Dorothy's pale hand into her own.  
  
"I'm here Dorothy," she whispered, using the voice she knew she'd one day soon use to soothe her own child. Dorothy smiled weakly and tried to whisper a thank you but it came out as a rasp instead. Hilde smiled and nodded in understanding while brushing back the blonde's soft hair. "You're gonna be okay, everything's gonna be just fine, you'll see," she reassured her. Dorothy's response before she drifted off to sleep was a weak squeeze of her hand and tear falling down her thin cheek.  
  
Hilde stroked her hand a bit longer until she was sure the other girl was asleep before pulling her hand away and getting up to find Sally. It didn't take long, the older woman was found just outside the doorway reading a chart.  
  
"How's Dorothy?" Sally inquired.   
  
"She's asleep, she seemed worried about Trowa but I told her it'd work out fine," she replied. Sally gave her a sad smile before turning back to the chart. "It seems that Dorothy will be fine, that phony doctor was lying; she doesn't even have that severe of frostbite. She did have some on her nose, feet, and hands, but nothing that the other hospital couldn't treat. The severe frostbite was most likely a ploy to get Dorothy to Earth," Sally said, her eyes locked on her chart. She didn't want to look up and see the hope she kept losing in Hilde's eyes.  
  
"But the pain that Dorothy felt-"  
  
"Probably a drug they administered, we'll run some tests to make sure. That doctor could find himself in a world of trouble after all this is done," Sally said, putting the chart back in its holder. Just as the metal holder clicked close, Wufei appeared behind the two girls with a to-go container with three Styrofoam coffee cups.  
  
"Thought everyone would need something, seeing as there's nothing else we can do now except wait for Dorothy to get better and for Maxwell to call," he said, his voice a bit lower than normal. Hilde looked at him, her large eyes shining. It seemed everyone was losing hope in the situation. She took the offered cup and extended her hand to place it on his forearm in a reassuring gesture. Wufei turned to her, his black eyes lifting slightly in surprise. However, they softened and he gave her a small smile, which made Sally smile. Hilde maybe in a delicate condition, but she was most assuredly the strongest of them all.   
  
Heero Yuy had never felt so happy in his life as he set down his carry-on briefcase on the chair next to his own. He realized with a smile that he'd been fidgeting playfully with the trench coat draped across his arm. He couldn't remember the last time he'd fidgeted. Behind his sparkling Prussian blue eyes was one continuously repeating image he'd already played out a thousand times; Relena standing at the Earth's airport, awaiting his arrival. He'd spent his whole morning zooming in on those aquamarine eyes, the honey blonde hair, the sweet, pink lips lifting in a smile and opening in a happy cry as she rushed into his arms. He almost hugged his trench coat in an effort of imagination to feel her embrace.   
  
"Flight 241 will be boarding in 10 minutes, again, Flight 241 will be boarding in 10 minutes," an automatic computer voice interrupted Heero's thoughts. He shook his head to clear it and looked around him. The flight would be quiet; he could see no little children around. Yet as reassuring as silence was to him, he wouldn't have minded watching little children play on their way to Earth. Every little child he saw, he almost immediately changed it in his mind. Even if the child was the complete opposite of himself and Relena, he found something of her or himself in them. The thought of children reminded him he needed to check something.  
  
He turned to his brown leather briefcase and opened up. Slipping his hand inside, he wrapped his fingers around the familiar wooden box that he'd so often held in hopes of getting his courage up to give it to Relena. Pulling it out, he stared at it as though taking his eyes away would rip the box away from his hand forever. He opened it up to reassure himself that the precious trinket inside was still there. It was.  
  
Twinkling back at him was a promise ring. It was a simple dark blue sapphire on a sliver band, but it meant the world to him. He knew that asking her to marry him would be rushing their tentative relationship; their polar opposite jobs would make things tougher than any normal marriage. But their polar opposite personalities were what drove Heero to buy this ring. He needed to promise her that someday, somehow he'd make her his wife and himself her husband. His smile even broader, he closed the box and placed it back in the briefcase.  
  
Suddenly a flash of black clothing with a brown tail whipping behind it caught his attention. His mind whipped itself back into alertness and he stood up like lightning. Running to the entrance where the black blur had passed he looked down it and caught a fleeting glimpse of what could only be Duo Maxwell's telltale brown braid. Whatever his best friend was doing flying down the dock's main corridor was beyond Heero but his curiosity was sparked. Duo's fiancé Hilde was due soon and there was nothing in this world that could pull him from her side unless something terrible was happening.  
  
"Flight 241 will be boarding in 5 minutes, any fliers are advised not to leave the Gate at this time," the computer voice chided as Heero went to take a step after Duo. He stepped back, knowing that chasing after Duo now would make him miss his chance to see Relena and whatever terrible thing was happening would have to wait until he could get Relena to have Duo vid-phone him on the shuttle.  
  
Trowa looked out at the shuttle's that were beginning to board passengers. The half hour shift had come when shuttles that had been on Earth 4 hours earlier were returning to bring more to their destination. He sighed and leaned his head against the window, wishing his own shuttle would arrive soon. They'd had announced only a few minutes previous that his flight would be delayed an extra 5-10 minutes due to space debris. He clunked his forehead against the window pane; after all this time waiting for his luck to change 5-10 minutes really shouldn't have made much of a difference but it seemed like an eternity to him. In 5-10 minutes, Quatre could have brainwashed Dorothy or gained her respect with his treachery. She was weak and defenseless and she needed Trowa more than ever and 5-10 minutes was too long of a wait for either of them he reasoned.   
  
With another clunk, he groaned and pulled away, sitting down in his seat. Scanning the group that he'd be traveling with he was reminded that he had no clothes and very little money, especially after paying the couple that had given him their ticket. He also didn't have a plan after rescuing Dorothy. He hated to think of having to take her on the run with him for a year before they could contact Une at Preventers HQ.   
  
"Flight 405 has arrived and will begin boarding in 5 minutes. Thank you for your patience," a young man announced at the head of the room. Trowa smiled and hefted on his jacket in preparation. He pulled out a bag of peanuts he'd bought with what little of his money he had and opened it up. Popping it into his mouth, he realized he hadn't eaten at all. It seemed odd that only this morning he'd been to the hospital searching for Dorothy. He finished the bag of peanuts in record time, his stomach still growling now that it had its first taste of food in hours.   
  
"I hope they serve a meal," he muttered to himself. A few last minute arrivals entered the room and were scanned for approval casually by Trowa. He heard the shuttle secure itself in its holdings outside and stood up with the others as names began to be called. He briefly paused to hope that the couple had changed the name of the ticket to his but pushed it aside when his name was called.  
  
"Trowa Barton!"   
  
Trowa pushed his way to the front and handed him his ticket and boarding pass. The same man that had thanked them for their patience inspected the ticket for authenticity before ripping the end of the ticket off and handing it back. He inspected the pass and nodded.  
  
"Seems in order, now I'll need some I.D.?" he asked. Trowa nodded and pulled out his wallet, flipped it open with an F.B.I.-ish flare to show his Preventers badge and I.D. The man's eyebrows lifted and he smiled appreciatively of the spectacle before saying "Good to have you aboard Captain Barton, step this way." And he pointed towards the narrow hallway that led to the shuttle's awaiting doors. Trowa's heart lifted as he stepped past the man.  
  
"TROWA!!!" came a familiar shout in an American accent. Trowa looked up to see Duo Maxwell pushing his way down the line towards him.  
  
"Sir, unless you have a ticket, you'll need to exit this gate," the man that had inspected Trowa's ticket said, stepping in front of the Deathsycthe pilot. Duo ignored him and tried to push past him but the guard stopped him.  
  
"I need to talk to Trowa!" Duo cried in the man's face. Trowa rolled his eyes and pushed towards the struggling pair.  
  
"I'll talk to him, he's another Preventer," Trowa informed the man. A low murmur sprang forth at the mention of Preventer amongst the crowd. Trowa ignored it and led Duo away from the rest. "What's wrong?" he whispered in a low voice.  
  
"Dorothy's not on Earth Trowa!" Duo cried, not following Trowa's example of quiet voices. The third gundam pilot's emerald eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"What do you mean, she's not on Earth? She wasn't at the hospital, Duo-"  
  
"She was, they had her hidden! But we transferred her to Sally's hospital and-"  
  
"Who's we?" Trowa interrupted, his tone harsh. Duo stopped, his mouth hanging slightly open. Trowa rarely, if ever, spoke harshly to him; there was always the subtle hint of amusement and caring behind his words.  
  
"All of us, Wufei, Sally, Hilde, they've taken her to Sally's hospital, she should be there now. Trowa, don't tell me you don't believe me?" he said, unbelieving. Trowa growled and pushed Duo aside.  
  
"I don't have time for this Duo, I know Quatre took her to Earth and that's where I'm going," he said, walking determinedly towards the doorway that led to his shuttle.  
  
"Trowa, she isn't there man!" Duo called after him. Trowa wheeled around and grabbed Maxwell by the shoulders, his hands biting.  
  
"I never thought Quatre would get to you too Duo," Trowa said quietly before roughly shoving Duo into a row of chairs. Duo fell head over heals over the chairs, his head hitting a metal arm sharply. Landing with a thud, he tried to pull himself back up to stop Trowa, but he had already passed through the doorway with the last passengers. He launched himself over the chairs despite his injuries but another guard held him back as they closed the door and locked it. Duo's head fell to his chest as the guard let go of his arm, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. The Gate vibrated as the shuttle engines started and the holdings let go of the ship.  
  
Trowa had left the colonies.  
  
Uh-oh, this isn't good. Hope you enjoyed this chapter; next part should be up soon!!  
  
Love you all!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	17. Pt 2 Tricks of the Trade

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter 17: FINE TUNING: Pt. 2; Tricks of the Trade  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters.   
  
In this chapter, we're finally going to learn why Quatre has been acting (keyword, ACTING) the way he has. Enjoy Q-man fans!!!  
  
Heero shifted in his seat as he deftly released his safety belt latch. The flashing signal above him told him it was safe to do so as well as use the vid-phone mounted in the seat in front of him. As soon as he pulled the laptop-like device from its holder and set it on the fold out table on his lap, Relena's number, along with her image, popped into his head. He'd hoped to wait to savor Relena's face in person but finding out what had brought Duo to the docks was eating at his mind. While typing in the number into the keypad as fast as he could, he arranged his face so he wouldn't frighten or worry his girlfriend. The blue on the screen suddenly sprung to life as Pagan's face appeared. His familiar weathered appearance seemed no more worn than usual, Heero noted; things were going well at the Peacecraft residence then.  
  
"Master Yuy! Miss Relena was hoping you'd call," Pagan greeted him cheerfully. Heero nodded, smiling at the mention of Relena's name.  
  
"Is she home, Pagan?" he asked eagerly. Pagan nodded and stepped aside with a smile. Relena appeared soon afterwards. Her aquamarine eyes were laughing and her whole being looked happy.  
  
"Hello Heero!" she greeted him with a laugh. Heero chuckled at her exuberance and nearly forgot why he called in the first place.  
  
"Hello Relena, I just got on the shuttle and I-"  
  
"Speaking of which," she interrupted, "what time should we be expecting you?" Heero rolled his eyes in sarcasm and she stuck out her tongue through the screen, their ritual when she brought up schedules.  
  
"Four hours or so," he replied. "Relena, I need you to do me a favor."  
  
Her ears pricked and she studied his image carefully. Heero rarely wanted her to do things for him, no matter how small they might be. Relena's giving nature always came into conflict with this aspect of her boyfriend's personality.  
  
"Anything," she said, her tone serious. Heero smiled back at her, his dark eyes displaying the words the two rarely said aloud, but often showed.  
  
"I saw Duo today at the docks and he seemed to be up to something. I need you to call him on his cell phone and tell him to find a public vid-phone so we can talk," he told her. Relena nodded and disappeared for a few seconds. Heero tried scanning the room with the vid-cam but she'd left it. When she reappeared she had a pen, slip of paper, and a very serious expression on her face.  
  
"Ready," she said determinedly. Heero laughed at her cute expression and gave her the phone number for Duo's cell and the number for the vid-phone.  
  
"I have to go now if I'm going to have enough money to pay for Duo's call," Heero said as soon as Relena had written down the digits. She nodded and looked back up at him, her eyes telling him not to go. He gave her a sympathetic smile, which she returned with a forced one of her own before touching her lips with her two fingers and placing them on the screen. Heero placed his own hand on the screen and brought them back to his lips.  
  
"See you soon," she whispered.  
  
"See you soon," he replied quietly, before disconnecting. Gods, he missed her already.  
  
Duo was slowly making his way back the parking lot from the entrance to the docks when his cell phone rang. Groaning at the pain the sound caused his aching head, he quickly answered it to cut off the noise. Annoyed, he kicked himself mentally for getting the loudest ring tone he could find.  
  
"Yes?" he asked grumpily of his black receiver.  
  
"Duo?" came Relena's voice on the other end. "Are you alright? You sound a little groggy," she said, her voice caring.  
  
"You would too if your head had hit a metal chair after flying over said chair," he replied. He heard Relena gasp.  
  
"How in the world did that happen?"  
  
"Long story, Relena, I can't talk long, I have to check in on Hilde and the others," he began.  
  
"Duo, Heero says he needs you to call him on the vid-phone. He said he saw you at the docks and wanted to know what you were up to," she said, dutifully filling out Heero's favor. Duo's eyes lit up beneath he glaze that had fallen over them by the head injury.  
  
"What was he doing at the docks?"  
  
"Getting on his shuttle, of course!" was the answer. Her loud voice made Duo wince slightly, but it was pushed aside at the thought of having one last possibility of convince Trowa to come back to Earth.  
  
"Quickly, Relena, give me the number, I need to call him right away!" he rushed. He heard the shuffle of papers and then Relena reciting the vid-phone number.  
  
"351-0245, Duo, what's going on?" her voice sounded worried. Duo ran the rest of the way to Wufei's car.  
  
"No time to explain, but as soon as this is all said and done, I promise I will!" he exclaimed and cut off the phone. After shoving the cell phone back into his pocket, he pulled open the car door and began searching Wufei's glove compartment for his compact vid-phone.  
  
"Where is it, Wufei?" he growled, pushing out immaculately folded maps and bills. Finally he pulled out the case and ripped it open.  
  
"351-0245," he muttered as he typed it in. "Oh you better be sitting in your seat," Duo whispered as the black screen turned blue.  
  
Heero's vid phone began ringing, pulling him out of his Relena reverie. He picked up the connection and Duo's flushed face came into view.  
  
"Duo-" Heero began, but Duo cut him off with a hand signal.  
  
"Heero, I'm glad you got in contact with me. Trowa's making a huge mistake; he's going to Earth thinking Dorothy's there but Dorothy's still here on the colonies. Is there someway you can contact him through the shuttle systems?" Duo said in one long gulp. Heero felt like he'd been struck by lightning, he felt so stunned. Yet his face showed nothing. He racked his mind for any information he had on the shuttle computer and radio systems.  
  
"I doubt it. I'd need to bust into this one, which would be the easiest part, but then I'd have to convince the pilot of Trowa's shuttle to give him the message," he replied. Duo moaned helplessly and sat silent for a moment.  
  
"Couldn't you hack their intercom system?" he asked. Heero shook his head, before informing Duo that the intercom system was regulated by the docks computers and any messages from the pilot to the passengers was passed by flight attendants. While shaking his head he caught sight of another shuttle flying close by.  
  
"Duo?" The gundam pilot looked up hopefully from the steering wheel of Wufei's car. "What's Trowa's flight number?" Heero's eyes were fixed on the black letters on the side of the opposite shuttle. Duo scanned his memory for the information before it finally came to him.  
  
"405, why?" he finally replied. Heero nodded, the black 405 staring back at him from the shuttle. Through the vid-phone screen Duo saw Heero look to his left down the aisle; when his face returned to the screen, he was smirking.  
  
"I think I've got a better idea," he said pulling out the revolver that he carried on duty. Duo watched him, transfixed as he pulled out his badge as well.  
  
"I'll call you later Duo," Heero said before cutting off the signal. Duo shut his eyes and sighed; Heero was now in control of the situation. Whether or not that was a good thing for those on Heero's shuttle, Duo didn't know. But it was definitely a good thing for him.  
  
Heero put his vid-phone back into its mount and flipped up his laptop table before standing up. He hid his gun inside his jacket so he wouldn't alarm any flight attendants or passengers and nonchalantly approached the general area of the space shuttle's hanger. He thanked the stars for having the sense to refuse Relena's offer of getting put in first class because he was now much closer to where the mobile suit that every space shuttle was equipped with was stored.  
  
During the war, most shuttle hangers were designed to keep out intruders but last year the newer shuttles removed the now unnecessary locks and heavy doors. Making sure his badge would be clearly seen, he pulled out his gun again and slowly opened the door.  
  
"Jim, you mind handing me the last sugar-" one of the guards stopped mid-sentence when he spotted Heero and his gun, which was now pointed at the two. Upon closer inspection, the frightened pair would have spotted the safety was on however, a black barrel aimed at their heads was a bit distracting.   
  
"Gentlemen, I need the use of your mobile suit," Heero said, his voice low and menacing. There was no point in chitchatting, not when one of his best friend's relationship was at stake.   
  
"You can't be in-" the guard named Jim began but Heero took a step closer, his finger tightening impulsively on the trigger, making the man stop dead.   
  
"You need to get out of my way or-" Heero pulled the gun away from the guard's head and pointed it at one of the side windows of the hanger. "I put this whole flight at jeopardy," he finished. The two looked at each other and a less observant hijacker would miss the hand signal from guard to guard. Someone less observant also wouldn't notice one of the guard's hand inching towards the emergency signal, however little to nothing got by Heero Yuy, former Perfect Soldier. His left hand was already on the guard's hand by the time he'd come within an inch of the button that could send Trowa towards Earth.  
  
"You can't do this, as soon as we get word out that you've taken this suit, the dock patrol will be on you like lightening," Jim told him, trying to be brave. Heero turned on him abruptly, his hand still crushing the other guard's wrist. He smirked at him and put his gun into his jacket. With what seemed a fancy flourish, Heero had the guard's wrist in his right hand and his badge in his left.  
  
"Captain Yuy of the Preventers, according to the Preventer's Charter I have every right to take this mobile suit," he informed the two, leaving out the fact that he could only use the suit for Preventer's use and by standard practice, he was supposed to at least ask first. However, desperate times called for desperate measures and what was the fun in asking?  
  
"I don't believe you!" the pilot cried but Heero was not really listening. The Shuttle 405 was probably miles away and he needed to get a move on.  
  
"I don't really care if you don't believe me," Heero muttered as he used the butt of his gun to knock out the two guards. As soon as the two had dropped to the metal floor, he jumped from the catwalk onto the mobile suit's platform and grabbed the start-up disk. Once inside the suit, he maneuvered it to the opening that would lead it into the chamber that would lead him out into space. Trowa had arranged for Heero to go to Earth to spend this year of separation with Relena so it was time to return the favor.  
  
Quatre sighed as he stepped forward to grab his bags from the rotating baggage drop. Things were working out perfectly yet he felt horrible. The two year long deception had worked wonderfully, fooling even his closest friends into believing that he had become colder over the years. He hadn't become colder, just older and with that came the responsibility of using his diplomatic skills and misgiving looks for the Preventer's advantage. Since the end of the wars he had been undercover for Une, doing reconnaissance on any rumors of new military factions forming. All had been undone with a few lies on Quatre's part, giving the factions reasons to hate other members of their own group, thus eating the threat from the inside out.   
  
He had worked under the noses of his companions so as to prevent their usual protective nature of him from getting in the way. He and Une had anticipated that prematurely, already imagining how Trowa would feel he'd need to come to Quatre's rescue and in the end fumble things up or Wufei and Duo coming to save the day and blowing his cover. So he lied and lied and lied until he began believing his lies. Maybe he had become cold he thought as he imagined Dorothy's strained face as he kissed her.   
  
His latest, and longest, case to date was disassembling the ever-growing threat of the Romefellar Foundation, more specifically, getting into Duke Dermail's inner circle. This had already been accomplished, but with the worst lies Quatre had ever told in his life. The other factions had been simple to take apart; he didn't know the people and only saw them as a threat. But he knew Dorothy, he knew her very well. And now he was using her to accomplish his task.  
  
He'd made a deal with Dermail; he take his stubborn, headstrong granddaughter out of his hair and into a church where she'd be made a respectable woman with much money and a nice house, while Dermail let Quatre into his circle. It was a win-win situation for Dermail, and at the time, was a win-win for Quatre as well. But there were losses for both; Dermail would be losing his security and Quatre would be losing his soul…it was almost a literal deal with the Devil, Quatre told himself as he approached a pay phone.  
  
He wanted out of this deal, he didn't care about Romefellar anymore. All he really cared about was making Dorothy happy. Quatre had been so delighted when Dermail agreed to give him his granddaughter in marriage but when she ran off it should have been his first sign that Dorothy didn't want him. However, the tough mask that had been weaved and shaped out of his numerous lies over two years time didn't let her objection's sink in. In fact, they didn't hit home until he'd mulled over her face on the ride to Earth from the colonies. Not even her running off after Trowa after their make-out session in the hallway had clued him in.   
  
Up until four hours ago Quatre had been living in his own dream world in which Dorothy loved him and understood why he was doing this; oh if only he could tell her what this was all about!!  
  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out 5 dollars, the standard fee to make a call from Earth to the colonies. He needed to check in on her, make sure she had gotten to the shuttle safely; if he was going to go through with this, he was at least going to make her as comfortable as possible.  
  
"Hello, could you put me in touch with Dr. Seamus please?" Quatre asked of the receptionist. He nodded dumbly when she asked him to hold, not really comprehending that she couldn't see him. But when he finally did realize it, he didn't care.   
  
"Mr. Winner?" came the shakier than usual voice of Dr. Seamus. Quatre frowned, something wasn't right.  
  
"What's wrong?" His business voice made him cringe at the sound of it. He didn't want to be seen or heard like this any longer. There was an awkward pause over the phone and Quatre considered asking the man if he was alright but thought better of it. Finally, he heard the doctor sigh unhappily before mumbling something he couldn't make out.  
  
"What was that?" The doctor cleared his throat.  
  
"Dorothy never made it to the shuttles, Mr. Winner." Quatre's heart seemed to stop and a thousand gruesome possibilities of what could have happened to Dorothy ran like wildfire through his mind. "She was transferred to a new hospital by Dr. Sally Po and her rag tag group of friends," he continued. Quatre felt like jumping for joy and screaming in fury at the same time, so conflicted his two sides had become. He was so emotional and bent up inside that he slammed the phone down on its receiver, picked up his bags, and marched out of the docks.  
  
"Rag tag group of friends," he muttered half-mindedly. 'Those are my friends,' he reminded himself. Now he knew how Une felt when she had been working for Treize, he understood how easily her whole being could separate itself out into two equal shares. However, his sides were no longer equal. The side that wanted his friends back was in control now.   
  
He nodded at the Magunac that had come to pick him up and stepped into the dessert style Hummer. In the backseat he pulled out his portable vid-phone and closed the window that separated the back seat from the front. He was getting out of this mess and he was getting out of it now. The rough realization that Dorothy didn't want him, his friends no longer cared for him, that his life was too jumbled up for him to continue with the lies; all of it had pushed him over the cliff that led to the sea of rash decisions and he'd picked himself up onto the most reasonable looking rock-like decision he could find. He typed in the number for Preventers HQ.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Winner, would you like me to connect you to Ms. Une's office?" the receptionist asked politely. Quatre knew that the girls that worked the desk had become accustomed to his calls to Lady's office at all hours of the day and could imagine the rumors that spread amongst them do to his frequent calls.  
  
"Yes, if you would be so kind," he said, his voice gentler than it had been since the end of the wars. The girl seemed startled because the connection took longer than usual.  
  
Lady's face appeared on the screen before him. She smiled gently and put down her phone with a polite good-bye before turning her full attention to him.  
  
"Good morn-" She stopped to check her watch. "Excuse me, good afternoon, Quatre," she corrected herself. Quatre smiled, surprising the woman.  
  
"Good afternoon," his disposition was already lightening in the wake of his decision. "I wish to be relieved of duty, Lady Une," he announced. Une's brown eyes widened until her lashes were where her eyebrows probably were supposed to be.  
  
"I'm afraid that I can't-" she began but Quatre held up his hand to cut her off.  
  
"You haven't heard me out, Lady. I've been using the illegal method of bargaining for a place in Dermail's circle for Dorothy Catalonia's hand in marriage. Not only was I doing this against her will, I was also using my status as a Preventer undercover agent for personal gains. I request to be relieved of duty and to undergo any additional consequences," he informed her. Lady Une had never been so confused in her life. She'd watched as Quatre changed, hardening over the months because of the frequent lies and covers he had to use. Yet the new Quatre she'd come to know would never have done this and if he had, he never would have admitted it.   
  
"Are you making all this up?" she asked pathetically, unable to believe this far out story. Quatre shook his head.  
  
"Ask the Duke himself," he confirmed. "Although he'll probably lie about it," he added. Lady nodded, her head a blur of thoughts. If this was all true, then she had no choice but to-  
  
"Alright," she said, giving in. "I relieve you of your duty, though I don't know whom I'll get to replace you," she murmured in a stage whisper, hoping to send Quatre on guilt trip back to duty despite all of this. However he seemed prepared for this because he disappeared for a few seconds and came back smiling. Only a few seconds more, and a white sheet of paper came printing out of her fax machine.  
  
"I'm faxing you the credentials of Preventer Jack Sony, I believe he'll make a suitable replacement. Unless there's anything else, I'd like to go now," he finished. Lady Une sighed, glancing over at the white sheet of paper.   
  
"Why now?" she asked finally, her eyes not meeting his through the screen. Quatre was quiet for a few moments before answering.  
  
"It's tearing me apart," he replied. "I think you know what I mean." And with that, Quatre disconnected. Une nodded towards the black screen, she knew exactly what he meant. Her eyes locked on a picture of herself and Marameia; yes, she knew exactly what he meant.  
  
Heero had finally caught up with Shuttle 421 after about a half an hour of flying through space. It was lucky that this mobile suit was equipped with sonar that only locked onto shuttle of this particular space line, otherwise Heero would be lost amongst the heavy traffic of space today. As he approached the Shuttle, he heard the low hum of radio buzz as the Shuttle tried to contact him. Keeping a firm grip on his joystick (hehehe, that sounds a wee bit naughty!) he tuned the radio in and picked up the mouthpiece.  
  
"Mobile Suit 3309 requesting permission to dock," he said into the mouthpiece, reading off the number that was above his screen. There was a pause on the other end, they were probably checking for his number.  
  
"Alright, 3309, what's the reason for docking?" the pilot questioned. Heero smirked.  
  
"Have to pick up a passenger who got on the wrong flight," he answered. The pilot chuckled.  
  
"We haven't requested a mobile suit to pick up any passengers today, you better check your numbers fly boy!" Heero scanned his brain for a suitable lie.  
  
"Docks sent me from flight 241, spotted an error on a ticket set up. Said the passenger probably didn't even know he'd got the wrong flight," Heero finally said. It must have been believable because the back doors to the shuttle opened slowly.  
  
"Mobile suit 3309 request to dock granted."  
  
Well, well, Heero's come to save the day and Quatre isn't evil, sounds like a good day's work to me!! Hope you enjoyed, Chapter 18 will be up soon!!! Special shout out to anyone who remembers who Jack Sony is!!  
  
Love,  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	18. The Imposing Atmosphere

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Eighteen: The Imposing Atmosphere  
  
I know, I know, I promised Chap. 18 would be out soon, but there's been some difficulties, certain things came up and I was pulled off on other projects. However, this'll be the last chapter and the epilogue will be out shortly after. So don't worry, I've got a whole week off from my classes so this should be done within the month of August. So thanks for being patient!!  
  
Also, thanks to those who noticed the typo I made with the numbers of the flights; I kind of screwed some of them up. It wasn't my fault though, it was the moose. And a special shout out goes to for remembering who Sony was!  
  
In case anyone was planning to ask, I don't plan on writing a sequel to Out Of Tune. I have many other projects after this to pursue and that's sort of what kicked start me to sit down and finish this!! Hope those who are HP fans will check out the Harry/Hermione fic that I'll be starting shortly after this! Ciao!  
  
Although Trowa was tired, and his body cried for rest, he couldn't let himself relax. He had gotten a shuttle to Earth but that was only the first step to getting to Dorothy. He still had to find where Quatre had taken her and get her out of his grasp. Then there came the hardest part; keeping Dorothy safe. He didn't think it would do any good to contact Une and tell her what Quatre was doing, she always had a soft spot when it came to the Winner boy. So he wouldn't get any help from her. Heero would be too busy protecting Relena, although the two of them might be able to find Trowa and Dorothy a place to live in peace on Earth. Going back to the colonies was out of the question; although it was Quatre who'd come up with the idea of cutting off transportation, he had to agree that it was a good plan for catching this New Faction.   
  
He sighed, letting his head fall against the thick window of the shuttle. Part of him felt like screaming in frustration, part of him felt like hurting something, someone, or maybe himself, and smaller parts voiced their own frustrations and worries. He just couldn't focus on any one thing except for Dorothy; which was his major hindrance considering that he needed to come up with an effective plan to keep them both safe. His brain was askew with thoughts that wouldn't connect themselves and scenarios in which Dorothy wouldn't come back to him, or she couldn't because she was hurt, or… Trowa shook his head, closing his eyes shut, blocking out the gruesome possibilities. He needed to rest, he rationalized with himself. He leaned back against the soft seat and let out a long breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.   
  
"If only Dorothy was here," he whispered softly, soft enough that it was only he who heard it. As what could only be described as nightmares of what could possibly happening to her at that moment surged into his head, so did a semblance of a restless sleep.  
  
Sleeping is how Heero found Trowa. He figured he'd find him holding the captain hostage and driving the shuttle himself however, he now had to give him some credit for having some self control and letting himself rest before pursuing Dorothy. Lord knows, Heero wouldn't be able to sleep if he thought Relena was being hauled off away from him.   
  
He excused himself as he pushed his way down the row towards the empty seat next to Trowa. He sat down on the warm leather seat and set a hand on the pilot's forearm.  
  
"Trowa?" he said louder than he wanted as he shook the figure. With a start, Heavyarms master awoke and grabbed Heero's arm in a vice-like grip. With his emerald eyes slightly dazed with fatigue and sleep, he slowly focused in on Heero's face.  
  
"Heero?" he questioned groggily. Heero nodded and pulled Trowa to his feet and began to pull him towards the back entrance without explanation. Although it would have been the friendly thing to do and let Trowa get some rest, he knew that he needed to get Trowa back to Earth before transportation docks closed. However, it seemed Trowa had other ideas in mind.  
  
"Stop!" he cried as he pulled his arm away from Heero. Heero slid to a stop and whipped around, his Prussian blue eyes frustrated already. "Heero, what are you doing here?!"  
  
Heero growled as he reached for Trowa's arm again but it evaded him. Trowa responded to his growl with a dazed look of confusion, mixed with anger and frustration.  
  
"We don't have time for this!" Heero snarled as he reached yet again for the other pilot. Trowa retreated down the aisle.  
  
"You're right Heero, we don't! What in the hell do you think you're doing here!?" he demanded. Heero breathed in and out heavily, calming himself.  
  
"Trowa," he began calmly, "you've been deceived-"  
  
"I know that already damn it!! But why are you here?!" he yelled. He couldn't explain why he was becoming so frantic, but instinct seemed to dull his reasoning. He felt like a cornered animal for some reason, his train of thought suddenly derailed from its one track of logic.  
  
"Trowa, Dorothy isn't going to Earth. She's safe, at the same hospital Sally Po heads. I've come to stop you from making a terrible mis-"  
  
"You lie!" he screamed. "How much is he paying you, Heero?!" Trowa demanded, taking a long, bold step towards his friend. He jabbed him in the chest and repeated the question, his voice laced with malice.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking-"  
  
"Shut up!! You know damn well what I'm talking about! How much is Quatre paying you to do this? Is it enough to take Relena to nice restaurant, Heero?! Is it?! I hope so, you should at least get something out of betraying you friend!!" he cried, pushing Heero back and away from him as hard as he could. Heero was dumbfounded as he stumbled back and landed heavily on the plush red carpet, as was the rest of the passengers on the flight. A young nervous flight attendant watched on in horror as Trowa advanced on Heero again, his eyes almost feral.  
  
"Trowa, I'm not trying to betray you, if you'd only listen to me and stop this-"  
  
"Get out," Trowa replied, his breath coming in heaves. He towered over the Japanese man, his whole stance radiating with anger. Heero growled and pushed himself up, standing only inches away from his comrade. Despite his heritage, he came up to Trowa's chin and from his stance could look Trowa square in the eye.  
  
"Trowa, I'm sorry I have to do this," he said as calmly as he could. Faster than any of the passengers could follow, his hand came up and down in a swift motion, aiming for a vital pressure point. But Trowa had seen the move too many times before and Heero had, unfortunately, given him enough warning. He grabbed the other pilot's wrist, nanoseconds before it made contact with his own neck. And while holding his arm like his hand was a shark's jaw, he used his opposite elbow to sucker punch Heero in the stomach, knocking him to his knees and effectively ridding him of his supply of oxygen, long enough to keep him off his back.  
  
"Now, get out of here Heero. I'm going to Earth, and I WILL be with Dorothy again. Go back to Quatre and tell him that. Tell him that when I find him, I'll kill him for taking her away from me, understand?" he ordered, his voice low and menacing. Heero coughed, a trickle of blood dribbling down his chin. He looked back up at his friend, trying to convey the mistake through his Prussian blue eyes but Trowa's own eyes were veiled by his determination, as bullheaded as it was.   
  
Heero struggled to his feet and braced himself on one of the seats above him. Trowa watched him go, his mind slowly coming down from the adrenaline kick. A part of him felt evil for doing that to his friend, like it had been he who had betrayed their friend and not the other way around. However, he pushed those feelings aside in the same manner that he pushed the crowd aside as he returned to his seat.  
  
Heero was in more pain than he was letting on but he'd be damned if he let anyone see that as he stumbled back to the mobile suit. He rolled his eyes as the guard that was supposed to stop the fight between himself and Trowa finally had the courage to stop him.  
  
"Was that the passenger with the wrong ticket?" he inquired, his eyes smug despite his fear of confronting the two. "Seems to me he knew what flight he wanted to be on."  
  
"You'll do better to keep your nose out of this," Heero replied, his eyes telling the other man not to even think about arguing. Heero pushed his way past him and into the hanger that was housed inside the airplane and held the mobile suit he'd taken. As he pulled himself into the cockpit again, he stretched the cramping muscles of his stomach, trying to relieve the pain Trowa had caused. He wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at it for a moment before wiping it on his pants. He never was a very friendly person but as he moved on in his life with the men and women that had fought with him on the various battlefields he had grown closer to them to the point where it hurt again to hear someone else's problems, where he could feel sympathy and love and friendship again. And the fight with Trowa, and being called a liar hurt. He had never realized how much the Heavyarms pilot had gotten under his skin but now it stung more than the bruises he'd received from the other pilot.  
  
But he couldn't let Trowa do this. He wanted his friends to be happy, because it didn't strike him as fair that he'd be happy with Relena while Trowa and Dorothy were miserable. Making quick work out of his mission, he turned on the built in vid-phone of the mobile suit, deciding to contact Relena and have the one person who could convince Trowa to come back vid-phone him.  
  
Pagan had never seen Miss Relena as nervous as she was now before. After years of being her personal attendant, he had noticed some of her habits when nervous. One was to twirl her hair on each finger in turn and another was to bite her lip hard enough to make the skin go white. However, he wasn't particularly worried. He was the optimistic sort of person and he knew that Miss Relena was only so nervous because her friends were involved in something that was causing them to act stranger than usual, particularly Mr. Yuy.   
  
"Miss Relena, would you like me to bring you some hot chocolate?" he asked, hoping to distract her from her thoughts. She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes softening.   
  
"That would be lovely Pagan," she replied, finally letting go of her honey-blonde hair. Pagan smiled in return and gave her a small bow, before heading off towards the kitchen to make her cocoa. She sighed at the sound of the swinging doors that led to the kitchen clacking together before slumping down in the plush armchair next to the vid-phone. It was amazing how relieved one could be by a simple vid-phone call one moment and the next be thrown into a load of new worries the next.   
  
She was so busy replaying her conversation between Heero earlier that she almost missed the ringing of the vid-phone next to her. Her hands clumsy from haste, she finally opened up the device and nearly began to cry at the sight of her boyfriend looking back at her, looking fairly unharmed.   
  
"Heero?" she began, her voice cracking and preventing her from continuing. He tried to give her a smile but it only ended up in a wince. She started towards the screen before remembering that there were thousands of miles between them and she couldn't hold him at that particular moment.  
  
"Relena, I need you to contact Dorothy at that hospital, the one Sally Po works at," he said, not giving her a chance to finish voicing her worries and concerns. She snapped her mouth shut and processed the information, parts of her mind already trying to remember the number that Sally had given her in case she ever needed to speak with her at the hospital.  
  
"Why? Heero, what's going on?" she began in a rush, trying to keep her questions to only the bare minimum. Heero sighed roughly and looked off screen, his eyes looking almost hurt.  
  
"Relena, it's so hard to explain, so much has happened in such a short period of time. But in short, Trowa's making a big mistake; he thinks Dorothy's on Earth and he's trying to get there now. But she's in the hospital on L-3," he tried to explain as quickly as he could. Relena gasped and tried to let the information sink in but there were still so many gaps for her imagination to fill that she couldn't fit it all inside herself. "Relena? I need you to get in contact with Dorothy and have her vid-phone this phone hear. Can you do that for me, Rel?" His softened voice, concerned eyes, and the use of her favorite nickname snapped her out of her reverie and pulled her back into his eyes.   
  
"Yes," she said, "Yes, Heero, I can. What's the number?"   
  
Wufei stroked the back of Sally's hand with his thumb as he held it. He turned towards her when he felt her eyes on him and gave her a reassuring smile. The group had been sitting silently inside Dorothy's room, waiting for Duo to return with Trowa and for life to pick up where it had left off, as hard as it would without their, now, ex-friend Quatre. However, Duo had returned without Trowa but with news. Dorothy's eyes still looked broken as she picked at her blanket and tried to repress tears, sobs, and the like.   
  
Only recently they had gotten a phone call from Relena, saying that Heero needed Dorothy to vid-phone them and it was now only a matter of waiting for a vid-phone to arrive. Relena had had no idea as to why Heero needed Dorothy to call him, but her tone sounded worried, as though Heero's actions had made her concerned. Sally had ordered a vid-phone be brought to their room and was now becoming impatient with its lack of arrival. Wufei pulled her hand up and kissed it twice, succeeding in calming and distracting the woman.  
  
Duo's face was etched with worry for his friends and was beginning to feel guilty. Guilty that he couldn't stop Trowa and guilty because now his pregnant soon-to-be wife had to comfort him instead of him being strong for her. Hilde had untied and unbraided and braided and tied and repeated the process three times now in an effort to soothe the pilot. The feel of her fingers running through his long, chestnut locks was comforting but it seemed like nothing would put him at ease unless Trowa walked through that hospital door.  
  
Dorothy didn't let on but she was secretly watching the two couples on either side of her. Although they had all expressed their concern for her, they were much too busy comforting each other to lend a shoulder to her. However, she couldn't be mad for the overwhelming emotion, or rather, lack of emotion inside of her that was eating her up was too big to let anger intrude. The worry of never seeing Trowa again that had fed upon her the night he chased after the android was nothing to what she felt now. She needed him in her life. And when…if…she ever saw him again, she vowed to herself that she would make sure he knew that.  
  
"I'm sorry I took so long, Dr. Po. We couldn't find any available-" the nursing assistant paused as she entered the room, a suppressing feeling of mourning seemed to fill her lungs faster than oxygen could. Out of habit, she glanced at the bed but was surprised to see the patient was still alive.  
  
"Thank you, Ms. Jones, if you'll just set it on the over-bed table and we'll take it from there," Sally said, her voice softer than Ms. Jones was used to hearing. She nodded and set it down harder than she'd wanted on the table and almost ran out of the room to escape the odd feeling that the room gave her. Sally pushed away from her chair hastily and made quick work out of setting up the vid-phone. She gave Dorothy a quick, reassuring smile as she typed in the number Relena had given her.  
  
"Here you are, Dorothy," she said, turning the phone in the younger girl's direction.  
  
"Thank you," Dorothy whispered, her voice weaker than the group had ever heard it. Apprehension filled the room as the blue screen turned blue. The group unconsciously moved their chairs closer to the bed in order to hear what was being said.  
  
Heero sighed in relief as he picked up the vid-phone. The mechanics that worked in the hangar that housed his mobile suit were beginning to give him odd looks and each moment that ticked past brought him and Trowa closer to Earth and farther away from the colonies.  
  
"Hello Dorothy," Heero said as he picked up the connection.   
  
"Hello," she replied. "Where's Trowa?"  
  
Heero winced at the sound of his friend's name, sending chills of dread up Dorothy's spine. She resisted the urge to ask if Trowa was alright so that she could get an answer to her first question.  
  
"Dorothy, I'm on the shuttle that he's on but he won't believe me. He thinks that I'm working for Quatre," he answered. At the sound of Quatre's name the men in the room seemed to bristle with anger.   
  
"Oh, so why did you call me?" she asked, her mind not really putting the pieces of this puzzle together.  
  
"I need you to convince him to come home with me. It'll be hard, he'll try to convince himself that we're all tricking him, but it's the only thing I can think of and we're running out of time. I overheard some mechanics say we're going to enter Earth's atmosphere in half an hour…" Heero explained, his voice trailing off. Duo and Wufei's eyes connected across Dorothy's bed and the same thought ran through their minds.  
  
'As soon as the enter the atmosphere, there's no turning back.'  
  
"Then connect me to him Heero," Dorothy ordered, her voice slowly gaining back its strength. Sally watched the girl carefully as Heero took the vid-phone towards the area Trowa was sitting. She didn't know what this sort of emotional strain this might have on her condition and she wrestled with herself over if it was worth it. However, she concluded, as she tightened her grip on Wufei's hand, love was worth hurting yourself…as long as it was in moderation.  
  
Heero passed the guard that had stopped him earlier, carrying the vid-phone as though it were a holy item. The flight attendants cowered away from him and he noticed that as one of them, further up the aisle, served dinner, she also avoided Trowa.  
  
"Trowa, I'm going to prove to you I'm not in cahoots with Quatre," Heero said as he flipped down Trowa's in-flight table and set the vid-phone down in front of him. For the first time in a long, strenuous 24 hours, Trowa's green eyes connected with Dorothy's soft blue-gray ones. Her pale face lit up and she smiled the most brilliant smile she'd ever given him. Her eyes brimmed with tears and her eyes sparkled.  
  
"Dorothy?" Trowa began, his voice failing him. He looked from his friend's face to her's, before keeping his gaze locked with hers. He reached out as though to touch her face and Dorothy did the same.  
  
"It's me Trowa," she replied. His heart ached as his fingers met only the tough, cold plastic screen of the vid-phone instead of Dorothy's smooth, soft skin.  
  
"Are you alright? Is Quatre treating you well? Of course he isn't, the bastard! Don't worry Dorothy, I'm on my way to get you out of there, okay?" he gushed, his mission returning to him. Dorothy's smile diminished however, instead of brightening like he'd thought it would.  
  
"Trowa, I'm not on Earth," she explained. Wufei looked down at his watch; the trip from the hangar to where Trowa was sitting had taken them close to 15 minutes and they only had a safe 10 minutes left. However, before he could point this out to Dorothy, Sally put a hand on his arm and gave it a soft squeeze.  
  
"Dorothy, don't worry. I know how it works; I'm coming to get you no matter how many times they force you to tell me not to! You just tell them that I can see right through their plot, okay?" he answered, his voice low and determined. Dorothy's heart began to sink. She closed her eyes and two crystalline tears fell down her cheeks.  
  
"Don't cry Dorothy, you have to be strong…Dorothy, what are you doing?"   
  
The same question haunted the group in the hospital room as Dorothy pulled off the blankets that hid her still mildly frostbitten legs. Although they were healing fast, she had been told not to walk. Hilde rushed up to help her lie back down but Dorothy waved her away. Unsteadily, she picked up the vid-phone and began walking towards the window. As she did, her eyes fixed on Trowa.  
  
"Trowa Barton, you listen to me right now. Do you love me?" she questioned, her voice stronger than it should be considering her state. Trowa was dumbfounded, what could she possibly be getting at.   
  
"Yes, you know I do, that's why I'm-"  
  
"Do you trust me?" she asked, her voice coming closer and closer to failing her. The rest of the group watched in amazement as she pushed her body to move her towards the window. She set the vid-phone against the window sill and paused to regain some of her strength.  
  
"Of course, Dorothy, what's all-"  
  
"Then trust me now Trowa. Put your love to the test and trust me; Trowa, your friends aren't trying to trick you and neither am I. I'm still in the colonies," she said, her voice beginning to break from strain and threatening tears. She spun the vid-phone around and pointed it's camera out onto the view the window had to offer.   
  
Trowa gasped as he saw the colony spread out before him. The artificial blizzard had left it full of snow, looking pure and like crystal. In the distance, he could see the colony wall, abuzz with lights and signals that kept the colony as livable as it was.   
  
"Trowa, that's the colony we live in, L-3," said Dorothy's voice. "Trowa, over there, just beyond that big building where they keep the grocery store provisions is our apartment. And way over there is the book store where we…" her voice failed her finally and the tears got the best of her. Trowa could hear a choked sob and wanted desperately to tell Dorothy to turn the vid-phone around so he could see her but he was too dumbfounded to speak. The fight with Duo, the fist fight with Heero, the idiot he'd made himself out to be; all of these memories, thoughts, and accusations came flying back at him. As if in a dream, he felt Heero's hand on his shoulder, giving him a friendly squeeze. Again, he wanted to speak, to tell his friend how sorry he was…but he couldn't.  
  
Dorothy seemed to read his mind and turned the vid-phone around to face her. Behind her he could make out the figures of his friends; Duo, Hilde, Wufei, and Sally.  
  
"That's the bookstore where we really truly met," he finally said, his voice returning to him. Dorothy held back a sob again but it hit her hard and Trowa berated himself for not being there to comfort her. But he would be, and soon.  
  
"Come home Trowa, please…" she finally said. Wufei, so caught up in the events, finally pulled himself out of his daze and looked at his watch. There was only 5 minutes or so before the shuttle would enter the atmosphere; the safe 10 minutes was up. However, before he could say anything, he was stopped again, this time by a ominous voice that came from the vid-phone.  
  
"All passengers, please fasten your seat belts. We'll be entering the Earth's atmosphere in 5 minutes."  
  
"Trowa?" Dorothy questioned, her eyes filling with more tears.   
  
"Dorothy, I'll be-"   
  
"All electronic devices shall be turned off at this time." And before Trowa could tell Dorothy not to worry, that he would be coming home, the vid-phone shut off, leaving him separated from his love.  
  
Dun, dun, dun, dun…  
  
Hmm, IS this really the last chapter? Or is there another one on the way? Or will it all be explained in the epilogue?   
  
You'll have to stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of…  
  
Out of Tune!!! Love to all - MadameHotaru.of.87 


	19. Repaired Relationships

OUT OF TUNE  
  
Chapter Nineteen: Repaired Relationships  
  
Hehehe, did I surprise you?   
  
And I apologize to La La La Anime Fan for forgetting to type in your name when I made the special shout out for remembering who Sony was. I guess I was typing so fast, it just slipped my mind! So here it is again!  
  
Special shout out to La La La Anime Fan for remembering who Sony was!!!  
  
Finally, there is a hint of lime at the very end but it stays well within the border of PG-13. However, I feel it my duty to warn you, just in case you're 12 ½ or younger!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any character, logo, etc. of Gundam Wing.  
  
"NO!!!" Dorothy cried, her legs giving out beneath her. She fell to the floor before Hilde or Duo could reach her, the vid-phone clattering to the floor, its screen black and empty.  
  
"Dorothy, it's okay," Hilde said, carefully easing herself to the floor to embrace the sobbing girl. Dorothy shook her head violently, tears falling off her cheeks every which way.  
  
"No, no, it's not okay! What if he didn't believe me? What if they don't get off the shuttle in time?!" she cried into Hilde's shoulder. Duo looked on helplessly, his cerulean blue eyes full of concern. Sally walked around the bed, Wufei behind her. The doctor knelt down and embraced the other two women. The three rocked back and forth, trying to soothe the crying girl but they knew that there was really nothing else they could do. Dorothy's heart had been ripped out her chest and there'd be no healing her until Trowa walked through that door, if he ever did.  
  
Wufei and Duo, clueless as to what to do, sat down on the bed. They'd never admit it but neither would mind a hug from someone else either; they'd lost Quatre through betrayal and know might have lost Heero and Trowa. The pair looked at each other with a new understanding in their eyes. If they were the last two on the colonies then they wouldn't let anything stand between their friendship anymore. And that included their manly pride. So with a new understanding, they gave each other an awkward hug, setting both somewhat at ease.  
  
Heero tugged on Trowa's arm and pulled him out of his seat, much like he'd done earlier. The vid-phone had gone blank and it seemed to have taken Trowa's mind with it for the young man seemed slow on his feet despite the urgency that filled Heero. A brave flight attendant, seeing the two out of their seats, stopped them.  
  
"Gentlemen, you need to buckle in, entering the Earth's atmosphere can be-" she began but the two passed her by. Trowa seemed to snap out of his daze at the mention of the Earth's atmosphere and began running just as hard as Heero.   
  
"I hope the hangar's still open," Heero muttered as they passed the guard. The guard gave them both a wary look but hid it with a cocky smirk, conveying what he thought of their postponed leaving.  
  
The hangar was still indeed open but the doors which led out into the dock that eventually led out to space were slowly closing.  
  
"Hurry, where's your mobile suit?" Trowa asked, practically throwing himself down the black metal stairs that led from the catwalk above. Heero pointed in the direction and the two took off across the concrete floor. A mechanic yelled as they passed and began muttering about stupid last minute leavers.  
  
Heero opened the cockpit and ushered Trowa inside into the only thing that could serve as a passenger seat; a small cargo holder that had straps to keep things from flying across the cockpit. Luckily, Trowa was thin enough to use the straps to keep him stable.  
  
"Ready?"   
  
"Ready," Trowa confirmed. Without any further incentive, Heero turned the mobile suit on and after a pause, turned on the jets that would let them fly out into the docking area. He knew that the shuttle pilots would not be happy about them leaving but they'd have no choice as long as he was in the docking area before the doors closed.   
  
"Hang on," Heero muttered. Trowa's grip on his straps tightened as the mobile suit turned itself halfway in the air, allowing it to slip through the closing doors. The doors closed shortly afterward with a loud and resounding thud and a pilot's picture appeared onscreen inside the cockpit.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the man screeched. Heero stared back at him coldly, his eyes warning the man to use a better tone with him.  
  
"I'm leaving." was Heero's answer. The pilot snarled but the co-pilot's hand squeezed his shoulder. A woman's face appeared onscreen with a bright smile.  
  
"We'll slow down a little and let you get off, but next time give us more warning, okay?" she said sweetly, giving him another warm smile. Heero nodded.  
  
"Thank you, ma'm," he said. He could hear the pilot's angry muttering just before the screen went black. Next came the roar of the shuttle's engines as they slowed the decent into Earth's atmosphere. Finally, the doors that opened up into space allowed them to pass, sucking out any debris that was still present in the docking area.  
  
"We're out of the clear Trowa," Heero said a few minutes later, his voice soft. Trowa nodded.   
  
"Is there anyway we can contact Dorothy again?" he asked, his voice low and soft. Heero looked around into the various compartments that surrounded the cockpit before remembering where the vid-phone was.  
  
"We left the vid-phone back on the shuttle and there's no other way to communicate with civilians on the colony from a mobile suit," he replied, his tone struggling to remain soft. Trowa nodded again and sat staring at the floor.   
  
The two glided on in silence for a good ten minutes before, finally, Trowa spoke again.  
  
"Thank you Heero."  
  
Heero took his eyes off the control panel to look at him. The two both knew that Heero didn't have to pay so much attention to the panel since he'd already set it on a course for the colonies and had put it on auto-pilot.  
  
"…You're welcome," he replied, looking down at the floor. Trowa's gaze followed, because he felt he had more to look down on then Heero did.  
  
"And I'm sorry about…about earlier," he finished. Heero laughed.  
  
"It's okay, you couldn't hurt me anyhow," he joked, his eyes smiling. Trowa snorted and raised a sophisticated eyebrow at his friend, his eyes looking more relieved than Heero had seen them in what seemed a long time.  
  
"Wanna bet on that?"  
  
Hilde idly stroked Dorothy's hair and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. She had fallen into a drug-induced sleep after close to two hours of crying. Hilde had prepared herself for dealing with hours of non-stop crying but not when dealing with adult crying. It had strained just about everyone in the room, even Sally who was used to comforting others. So now the group was taking a much needed break, although no one could escape from the anxiety that filled them. It was utterly frustrating how much waiting was involved in their current situation.  
  
"How's she doing?" came Duo's voice from behind her. She looked up as he loosely wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She reached up and clasped one of his hands in her own before kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"Same as before, I don't think we'll have any problems with dreams waking her up," she said, nuzzling up against his neck. Duo nodded and gave her a quick kiss. Then he untangled himself and grabbed a chair so he could sit next to her. "Where are the others?"  
  
"Wufei and Sally went to the cafeteria to get something to eat, they both looked pretty wiped out," Duo replied. Hilde nodded and turned back towards Dorothy. The two sat in silence for a long time, the only sound coming from Dorothy's soft breathing.  
  
"Do you think he'll make it back?" Duo closed his eyes. He knew that question would be asked somewhere by someone eventually. He wanted to tell her that yes, Trowa would be back. In fact, he wanted to tell her that all of this would disappear and things would go back to how they were a few weeks ago; Trowa and Dorothy would still be falling in love and together, Quatre would still be their friend and he'd be leaving for Earth, Heero and Relena would still be trying to keep their "secret" relationship hidden from their friends who knew all about it, and he and Hilde would still be enjoying the comfort of knowing all their friends would be present for their wedding and most of them would be there for the birth of their child. But he couldn't say that everything would be alright because he didn't know that for sure. In fact, he felt like he didn't know anything for sure.  
  
"I hope so," came his final reply.  
  
"Me too," she said, leaning onto his shoulder. Duo smiled and decided to return the favor of being the comforter and began to stroke her short, silky black hair. For a few moments, he let himself think about how he'd feel if he were Trowa. As he looked down at the pregnant woman in his arms he realized he'd probably go crazy if he had to spend a year or more away from her. His eyes fell on Dorothy, still sleeping in her bed. He wished that there was some way he could comfort his new friend but he could think of nothing. He had already tried to keep Trowa here for her and he had failed.  
  
Duo looked at the delicate watch on his girlfriend's wrist that he'd given to her for a Christmas gift a few years ago. He smiled at the memory of her stealing his watch constantly so she'd have something of his to wear; as if his sweatshirts weren't enough. However, the time on the watch was disturbing. It was now 9 in the evening. Although the day had seemed long, he didn't think it had gotten to be that late. He began to wonder why they were still here, since it was obviously well past visiting hours when his somewhat unfocused mind remembered that Sally had said she'd pull a few strings to let them stay longer. He looked over at Dorothy again.  
  
'Thank God for Sally,' he thought.  
  
"Gentlemen, you can't be here at this hour!!" came a screeching, high pitched voice from the hallway. Hilde pushed herself away from Duo, the pair tensing at the sound. The unbidden thought passed through the room in a second; 'What if it was Quatre and Dermail?' Duo instinctively reached for his gun, pushing the safety button off.  
  
"Gentlemen, I'll have to ask you to leave!!" the woman screamed again. Dorothy moaned and turned over, her light sleep broken.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice hoarse from crying and sleep. Hilde motioned for her to be quiet and Duo closed the door carefully, so as not to attract attention. He peered through the window but couldn't quite see who it was that was causing the commotion. However, he did see Sally and Wufei running past the room, their figures blurs. Distantly, he heard Sally demand to know what was going on and then the conversation either stopped or went too quiet for the pilot to hear through the door. He backed away and pushed his chair so that it was directly in front of the door.  
  
"Hilde, sit with Dorothy," he instructed in a whisper. She nodded and sat next to the blonde, putting her arm around her shoulders. Apparently, Sally was approaching their room because her voice was getting louder yet he still couldn't make out what she was saying. The door knob turned slowly yet Duo could only see Sally's face through the window. He took his finger off the trigger and turned the safety back on, but it stayed in his hand just in case.  
  
"-come in, it's okay. It may be after visiting hours, but you're a visitor this girl's been waiting to see!" Sally exclaimed. The ears of the room picked up and Duo stood, hoping beyond hope that it was who he thought it was. Dorothy's heart leapt into her throat as she watched the door open and Sally step in. She sat up in bed, Hilde's arm falling off her shoulders and onto the mattress. 'Please be him, please God…' she bargained in her mind.   
  
Her heart fell as Wufei and Heero filed into the room. Duo looked down and away, putting his gun back in its holster. Hilde gave Dorothy's shoulder a squeeze and stood up. Dorothy simply felt empty. There was no more room left for tears. Distantly, she heard footsteps in the doorway but just assumed they were Heero or Wufei. She fixed her gaze out the window that had the view she'd shown Trowa over the vid-phone. He wasn't coming home.  
  
"Dorothy?"  
  
She was so caught up in the view of the window that she almost missed the familiar voice calling her name. Almost.  
  
With a gasp, her body tensed and refused to move, yet her heart screamed for her to turn around.   
  
"Trowa?" she whispered. A familiar warmth seeped through her body as even more familiar arms wrapped around her. A face she'd missed nuzzled against her neck and the feel of his breath against her neck made her want to jump for joy.   
  
"Yes, it's me," he whispered back.  
  
However, her heart needed to be sure, needed reassurance that this wasn't another dream, that he was here, with her. He was safe, she was secure…she needed to know.  
  
Slowly, as though if she moved to quick he might be frightened off or she might wake up, she turned to face him. She met his emerald green eyes first. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, which he hadn't, and his face needed a good shave. His hair was messy and his clothes were rumpled and disheveled. Yet he were smiling a smile she'd never seen before but made her heart melt all the same.   
  
Still wary, she reached out to touch him. She cupped his face in her hand and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. When he opened his eyes again she knew he was real and her face brightened and the first real smile leapt to her face in what seemed like years.  
  
"It is you!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. Trowa laughed and pulled her tighter, rocking her back and forth and showering her with butterfly kisses.  
  
"Oh God, I've missed you so much, Dorothy!" he exclaimed between kisses. "And I've missed this," he kissed her, "And that," he kissed her again, "And that!" Dorothy laughed and cried into his shoulder at the same time, falling limp against him. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her forehead as if she were a child and ran his fingers through her long, platinum hair.  
  
"What about us?!" Duo cried, his eyes amused. "Didn't you miss us?!"   
  
Trowa laughed and looked down at his girlfriend, then back at Duo.  
  
"Nah!"  
  
Duo, Hilde, and Heero went back to Sally and Wufei's home that night, along with Sally and Wufei. However, Sally had let Trowa stay with Dorothy at the hospital the rest of the night, under the condition that the two got some much needed sleep. However, the majority of the night, the pair stayed up talking about each other, the apartment, their future together, and then, jokingly, marriage. It wasn't until they had talked about children until they were blue in the face that they finally fell asleep together, around 3 in the morning. They were awoken by their friends around 9, their cheery attitudes still prevailing.  
  
"We're going to go to the cafeteria for some chow, you wanna come?" Duo asked. However, Sally put up her hand.  
  
"Dorothy can't, she needs to stay in bed. That stunt you pulled last night was an okay once-in-awhile thing, but the cafeteria is much too long of a walk for you young lady," she said, her tone reverting back to Doctor-ish.   
  
"Then we'll bring you back something, k?" Duo offered. Dorothy shook her head.  
  
"I'm picky about my food," she laughed. Trowa rolled his eyes.  
  
"She's serious, she won't drink her coffee unless it has just the right amount of creamer in it," he said. Dorothy mock-glared at him but only ended up laughing. "I'll go and get you some breakfast, does that sound good?" he offered.   
  
"Sure, just make sure none of the fruit is next to any eggs, hash browns, or bacon….or any other breakfast food for that matter. And don't put any ketchup on anything, put that separate!!" she ordered. She opened up her mouth again but stopped when the group heard a knock on the door. Wufei opened it up, his black eyes looking confused as Lady Une stepped through.  
  
"Good morning everyone, the nurse told me I'd find you here," she said, her voice calm but her eyes fixed on the floor.  
  
"Lady, is something wrong?" Sally asked, picking up on Lady's odd behavior. The woman sighed and nodded, picking up her head with a determined gaze replacing her sad one.  
  
"I've come to inform you that I've relieved Quatre of his position," she explained. Duo growled.  
  
"Good!! Serves the bastard right!!" he cried. Hilde smacked him on the arm but her lack of force conveyed that she agreed with him all the same.  
  
"I agree with Duo, I still can't believe he was in on Duke Dermail's gang," Trowa said, anger filling him again. Lady Une nodded, soaking in all the input she was hearing about Quatre.  
  
"I understand your anger, gentlemen, but there's a piece of the puzzle that you were never made aware of," she said. Wufei looked up from the window he had been standing at.  
  
"And what is that?" he demanded. Lady Une sighed again and looked down at the floor.  
  
"Quatre has been a double agent for the Preventers for close to a year now," she explained. "He himself decided that it was best not to let the rest of you in on this information because he thought that you'd only try to protect him and end up getting in his way."  
  
"So he double crossed not only us but the Preventers?" Heero asked. Lady Une shook her head.  
  
"No, the only people he's truly crossed are Trowa and Dorothy. He was doing his duty by getting closer to Duke Dermail to take out the inner ring from the inside while we took it out from the outside. Him posing the idea of blocking off Earth from the colonies was actually my idea. No, it wasn't ever a matter of him doing his duty incorrectly, it was his means. Quatre had decided to use Dorothy as a means of getting closer to Duke Dermail and to win her heart back," she informed them. Trowa sat on the bed, Dorothy still leaning against his chest. His arms tightened around her as he bristled with anger.   
  
"I didn't actually have to tell you that Quatre had been relieved, as you all know from the Preventer Code. However, not only because he was your friend did I come to tell you but also because it wasn't I who decided to relieve him. He chose to resign… He knows what he was losing by continuing to lie to you and to pretend he was someone different."  
  
The group sat, stood, and lay paused, digesting this information. Lady Une lifted her head and gave a quick, impersonal salute.   
  
"I'll leave you all alone now, we'll begin to hash out this isolation from Earth at work the day after tomorrow. I think you all need a day off to sort everything out." And with that, she took her leave from the room. The group sat silent for another few moments, not saying anything about Quatre. Trowa was reminded of the isolation from Earth and looked over at Heero. He had been so caught up with thinking about Dorothy he'd forgotten that now Heero had no way of getting to Earth. 'The poor guy,' he thought.   
  
"Anyone still up for breakfast?" Duo asked, his tone much less energetic than it had been earlier. The group gave an almost unified nod and began to file out.  
  
"I'll stay here with Dorothy, could you get me some food though Duo?" Hilde asked. Duo nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek before following the group out. Hilde sat down next to Dorothy, who gave her a warm smile.  
  
"I'm glad you stayed behind," Dorothy began as the last person left, "I wanted to thank you for being here for me," she said. Hilde smiled back and shrugged.  
  
"Hey, it was the least I could do," she replied. The girls paused for a moment. "That was some pretty tough stuff to digest, huh?" Hilde ventured.  
  
"Yeah, it was," Dorothy replied. "But it makes sense, it just didn't seem right that he had actually become that evil."  
  
"I know what you mean. Duo and I had talked about that before we went to bed last night. It was like it wasn't real," Hilde agreed. Dorothy nodded and the two went quiet again. Dorothy had come to realize how many good friends she had in her life, especially the one sitting next to her.  
  
"I wonder if things between us and him will ever be the same again," Dorothy whispered. Hilde nodded.  
  
"I don't know, deep down I hope that we can all make peace with him someday…I know Duo was looking forward to having all his friends as grooms men at our wedding," she said, her voice just as quiet.  
  
"Oh, I can see that happening!" Dorothy laughed. "There's Duo, Heero, Trowa, and Wufei in their tuxes. And in comes Quatre and they all pull out guns and other weapons of mass destruction!!" Hilde groaned and laughed at the same time.  
  
"God, I hope not! But then, it would make for an interesting reception, wouldn't it?" she joked. Dorothy laughed along with her as the two began to come up with funny situations involving Quatre and the boy's grudge against him. The two laughed for a good 10 minutes before slowing to a stop. After a small pause, Hilde asked the question that had been weighing on her mind.  
  
"What about you? Do you think you'll come to peace with him?" she asked. Dorothy was quiet for a while before turning towards her new friend.  
  
"I'm going to make a point of it," she replied. Hilde nodded, processing the answer. However, it only lead to one more question.  
  
"May I ask why?"  
  
"I don't want either one of us to have to wear a holster under our dresses just to keep the peace!"   
  
Dorothy had stayed in the hospital for another day, giving Trowa time to go back to their apartment and clean up the mess the party had left behind. The group had decided they'd hold another party so that they could open the gifts that had been left in the wake of taking Dorothy to the hospital. However, no one had had time to clean up the refreshments that had been for the guests and a couple days sitting out on a counter never made anything look appetizing.  
  
The day Dorothy was released from the hospital was an extremely happy one for Trowa. He'd made sure that what was now the room they shared looked perfect for her arrival; complete with candles, extra pillows so she'd be comfy, all of her favorite books piled up on the bed stand, and he'd even moved all her clothes and belongings into their room together. The 2nd room they'd decided would be their mutual office, because as soon as she'd fully recovered, Dorothy was going to begin her career anew in politics, only this time on the colonies.  
  
"Mmm, I've missed this place," Dorothy said as she stepped into their apartment. She laughed when she spotted the tree still piled with presents. "Poor Marameia, she never did get her doll house!"   
  
"She will, I told Lady Une to tell her she was getting it so she wouldn't mope," Trowa assured her. Dorothy frowned a little.   
  
"It's good she won't mope, but that ruins the surprise," she said. Trowa rolled his eyes and kissed her, making her forget about dollhouses and moping.  
  
"Speaking of surprises, I have one for you," he said, pulling her towards their new bedroom. "Close your eyes," he instructed. She followed his directions and let him lead her into their room and let him sit her down on the bed. "Now open them."  
  
Dorothy opened her eyes to find a totally new bedroom. The combined interests that the two of them had seemed like they would have clashed together but instead they flowed smoothly, making a very tasteful room. He'd laid out her favorite books, put away her things, it was just so sweet!  
  
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, standing to give him a hug. He smiled back at her in welcome, and spun her around.   
  
"It's still hard to believe we're going to have our own room together now," Trowa said, stopping their spin. Dorothy smiled and stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. Her smile slowly turned to a smirk and her blue-gray eyes turned mischievous. "What?" Trowa asked, noticing her facial expression.  
  
"Why don't we break in our new room?" she asked, her voice hinting and implying something that made Trowa's jeans tighten. However, he forced back the urge to pick her up and take her to bed at that moment.  
  
"Are you sure you'd be up for that? You just got out of the hospital," he said, his tone laced with concern but fighting back lust.  
  
"I'm sure, besides, you never did finish my guitar lesson," she replied. Trowa grinned and with now more coaxing, he gave into his urge to pick her up and take her to bed. Besides, she had a point. The girl needed to learn to play the guitar sometime.  
  
The End!!  
  
Epilogue will be out soon,   
  
Hugs and kisses!!!  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


	20. In Tune and Singing in Harmony

Out of Tune  
  
Epilogue: In Tune And Singing In Harmony  
  
Well folks, we've come to the end of something, good, bad, and ugly. Hope you enjoy the very last addition to Out of Tune! Thanks for being here for the whole thing!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, logos, etc. from Gundam Wing.  
  
"I'm sure, besides, you never did finish my guitar lesson," she replied. Trowa grinned and with no more coaxing, he gave into his urge to pick her up and take her to bed. Besides, she had a point. The girl needed to learn to play the guitar sometime.   
  
Roughly One Year Later  
  
"WAH!!!!!" was pretty much the only sound little Solo Maxwell could make, that and "AHHHH!!". And both sounds were beginning to drive Trowa Barton up the wall, despite his deep affection for his godson. Somehow, he glared over at his steady girlfriend Dorothy, he'd ended up babysitting Solo under the pretenses that he needed to "get used to little children". Although he loved children, having his own sounded quite scary.  
  
"How's it going?" Dorothy asked as she moved from where she had been talking to Hilde and Relena in their little circle in the corner. Trowa groaned in response. Dorothy laughed and took Solo from him. Within seconds, the sounds of tinkling laughter and baby coos were filling the air.  
  
"How-how'd you do that?" he demanded. Dorothy laughed again.  
  
"You just need to give him some attention and he'll gobble it right up," she explained. Trowa paused and then grinned.  
  
"I knew that," he replied, making her roll her eyes. He watched on in amazement as she turned the fussy child into a laughing and happy baby boy. The fear of having children seemed distant as he watched her with Solo.   
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for coming to me and Hilde's rehearsal dinner tonight!" Duo yelled, his voice carrying over the crowd. Trowa had completely missed the two's entry. However, he missed a lot of things when Dorothy was around. That's why their little "mutual office" was now really just her's because he'd get too distracted to do any work in there, especially with her in it.  
  
Trowa tore his gaze away from her and began to scan the small room that was crowding so many people together. Although it was a fairly small crowd, there was a lot of bustle due to the two babies in the room; only a week after Dorothy had been released from the hospital, did Sally and Wufei announce the coming of a child of their own. And little Marameia still made sure she got her due amount of attention, making the room a very busy place.   
  
Not long after Wufei and Sally's announcement, did more good news arrive; they were calling off the isolation between the Earth and the colonies because, due to Quatre's earlier contributions and the effectiveness of a, then unknown, Preventer named Sony, the New Faction was dissolved and its leader, the arrogant Duke Dermail, was put behind bars for attempted crimes against humanity. With the isolation called off, Heero was allowed to return to Earth, where he and Relena finally went public with their relationship. Although it wasn't still accepted in many circles, both being from two different extreme views on war, neither gave a rat's ass.  
  
Duo and Hilde had already postponed their wedding before the isolation was cut off so that all their friends would be able to attend but once the operation was disengaged, the two decided they'd keep their new wedding date instead of dealing with the hassle of making out a third round of invitations. Hilde delivered on January 24, making Duo a very happy, but very tired, Daddy. Duo couldn't really decide which of his friends he wanted to name his son's godfather, so he decided to let them all be god-fathers…even Quatre.  
  
Although relations were still a bit strained between Trowa and Quatre, the Q-man had been reaccepted by the others after his profound apologies to each one, that he made personally. As Trowa's eyes leapt from person to person he noted how different they all looked from when they were 15. Duo still hadn't cut his hair, and had only proceeded in getting taller. He'd finally lost the excess black attire and let himself dress in more cheery of clothes. Heero had probably changed the most out of all of them; now growing a bit of facial hair, he was now fuller than he had been and his laugh was much more of a common occurrence than it had been. Wufei had let his hair down for the rehearsal dinner, literally, and although he still was a bit of a stickler for rules and dress codes, having a child had loosened him up and the upcoming marriage to Sally didn't put any wrinkles on his face either. Hilde looked a nervous wreck, what with planning the wedding and caring for her baby, but Relena, who's calm voice always worked to soothe people, was helping her immensely. She'd even offered to be her personal wedding attendant so that she could help the poor girl out. Sally was holding little Meiran on her hip, the little girl looking calmer than any baby had the right to be. Although it seemed odd to Trowa that Wufei would name his daughter after his deceased wife, Sally had been all for it. Apparently there was a respect the two parents had for the woman that made naming their daughter after her a great honor. Lady Une was sitting and laughing with Lucrezia and Milliardo, who had recently returned from Mars to attend the wedding. Although none of the three were in the wedding party, they were so close that they would be sitting at the wedding party table anyway. The rest of the guests that would be at the wedding were a mix of Hilde's family and friends and Duo's other friends from work.  
  
Finally, Trowa's eyes came to rest on Quatre, who was now sitting in a corner talking quietly to Catherine. Trowa looked down and away from the two, not really wishing to see them together. Even he couldn't deny how close the two were becoming but he couldn't really quite bring himself to like it. A part of him knew it was unfair to think badly of them finally finding someone to be happy with, but most of him just couldn't part with the fact that his sister, whether she be biological or not, was falling in love with Quatre. However, he would never say anything to either of them, he didn't want to hurt his sister and he knew that Quatre wouldn't hurt her, not after what he'd done to Dorothy.  
  
"Let's get this party started!!" Duo yelled, starting to pass fill people's cups with beer from a large pitcher. Duo, being Duo, had decided that instead of having something fancy for the rehearsal dinner, they'd keep it simple and have beer and pizza at a local bar that was well known for its karaoke nights. Trowa hoped that Duo wouldn't be so stupid as to get trashed and sing, considering that it was his wedding tomorrow afternoon.   
  
Luckily enough for all those involved, Duo only drank enough that he only needed to be escorted to his room instead of carried. And he wasn't the only one trashed, Milliardo and Heero had drunk enough that they agreed to sing a duet together; "I've Got You Babe" was their choice. Trowa shuddered, the memory of Milliardo and Heero with their arms around each other's shoulders and their out of tune slurred lyrics were enough to make even understanding Relena cringe.   
  
The next morning was a blur as various men and women recovered from hangovers and struggled into dresses and suits. The wedding party had the shortest end of the stick, particularly the women. As if it wasn't bad enough they had to primp themselves, they also had to help clueless ex-gundam pilots into tuxes. Poor Relena had to help both Heero and Duo prep themselves, and she had to make sure they looked better than any of the other's considering their status as Best Man and Groom, respectively. Dorothy awoke bright and early that morning, getting herself ready before Trowa had even got up and was now helping him tie his bow and put the stud-like things on the buttons of his tux.   
  
"Come in!" Dorothy cried when she heard the knock on the already open door. "There you go babe, all set," she said as she finished on his tux.   
  
"Auntie Dorothy, how do I look?" Marameia asked as she twirled around in her flower girl dress. Dorothy smiled and clapped before giving her two thumbs up.  
  
"You look beautiful!" she exclaimed, giving the little girl a hug. Trowa grabbed her from Dorothy and spun her around.  
  
"Are you sure it's not your wedding day?" he asked jokingly as he set the laughing girl down. Marameia giggled and shook her head.  
  
"Of course it isn't, but when it is, will you marry me?" she asked, her large eyes questioning. Trowa laughed and looked over at Dorothy.  
  
"I dunno, what do you think Dot?" he asked. His eyes met hers and they shared their own silent laugh before she answered.  
  
"We can share Marameia," she said. "Now come on, I'm sure Lady's looking for you," she said, picking the girl up. Trowa waved good-bye and turned back inside, before checking to see if anyone was watching him. He turned into the small bathroom of the hotel room and reached into the case that held his shaving gear and other toiletries. He knew that this was a safe spot that Dorothy wouldn't dare look in; their first argument had centered over this case and how "sacred" it was. He pulled out the special item that he'd hidden inside and pocketed, patting it to make sure it was safe and well hidden beneath his jacket.   
  
He looked out the door again and once he was sure the coast was clear, he closed the door softly and picked up the telephone, dialing the familiar number of a favorite place.  
  
"Hello, I'm calling about the 'event', tonight," he said, knowing the person on the other line would know exactly what he was talking about. "Good, is everything in place?" he asked. "Excellent, then I'll bring her tonight," he finished. He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair.  
  
'I just hope everything goes to plan,' he thought.  
  
The ceremony had gone off without anything too major going wrong. In fact, if anything did go wrong, those who found out made a point that Hilde never found out about it. This was something Duo had dictated the night before when the bride wasn't looking. The only thing that didn't go as planned that Hilde did find out about was Solo refusing to wear the dress shoes that went with his baby tux. However, they all decided he looked cuter without them. Marameia had yet again stole a crowd by showcasing off her "cousin" and still being able to throw flowers as she carried the ring bearer and fulfilled her duties as a flower girl.   
  
It had been a very beautiful wedding and the barhopping afterwards was a great way to kick off the couples' marriage. When they finally arrived at the reception in the banquet hall of the hotel, Duo was yet again easily blitzed but then, so was Hilde, so no one really paid any mind. Even though she was of German heritage, Hilde had gone along with Duo in having a traditional American wedding, complete with all its old traditions. As dinner was being consumed, the guests would use their forks, knives, and spoons to make ringing noises against their china, forcing the couple to stand up and kiss in front of the crowd. Since both loved eating face, as Heero so grumpily put it, they'd also agreed that whenever anyone said the word love, they'd also have to kiss. Which is why when Heero gave his Best Man speech, he made a point of saying that he'd replaced every 'love' in his speech with, what else, Wing Zero. Which of course made for a very amusing speech indeed.  
  
When Relena gave her Bride of Honor speech, she made a point of saying love several times in a row forcing the couple to remain standing for a good 5 minutes. Once dinner had been served, the music and dancing commenced. All of the gundam pilots were forcefully dragged out onto the dance floor, either by their girlfriends or by Duo, who was covered in lipstick and spilled champagne. Trowa hadn't minded since Dorothy wasn't much in the mood to dance so they slowly slipped away from the dance floor to the bar where they hid amongst the crowd of people.  
  
"I'm so happy for Hilde," Dorothy almost shouted to Trowa, so he could hear her over the music. Trowa smiled and took a drink of his Malibu and coke, nodding as he swallowed. He turned back to the dance floor to find that Duo had been joined in the exclusive "Drunk and Luvin' It" club by Heero and, surprise upon surprise, Quatre. The three were laughing like the best joke in the world had been said as they struggled to recreate disco moves. Relena was blushing, Hilde was laughing and playing along, and Catherine was struggling with a nervous laugh.   
  
"Never took Wufei for the dancing type!" he shouted at Dorothy, the music pumping louder as another fast song played. He pointed over at the Chinese man, who was involved in a 3-way dance between his wife and daughter.   
  
"Kodak moment!" Dorothy cried back. Trowa laughed and nodded. He spun his chair back towards the bar, his hand instinctively going to hers. He lifted it up and kissed her palm, his eyes never leaving hers. She smiled back at him, giving him his favorite expression in her "book" of expressions as they called it. 'I can't wait for tonight,' he thought, his eyes sparkling with excitement.   
  
Once the song had finished, Duo walked up to the DJ and informed her that it was now 10 o'clock and time for the Grand March, of course, he hadn't said it as clearly as he'd of liked, but he at least got the point across.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'd all be so kind as to stand up now, leave a nice aisle here on the dance floor, that's it," she directed. Trowa and Dorothy stood up and filed out of the room, following the rest of the wedding party.   
  
"This should be good," Dorothy whispered to Trowa once they were in the quiet of the hall outside the doors. Trowa laughed and nodded, offering his arm to his lady.   
  
"Guests, I'd like to present to you Mr. And Mrs. Duo and Hilde Maxwell and their Wedding Party!!" the DJ cried. Duo and Hilde busted open the double doors with a practiced high kick. Duo picked her up and rushed into the banquet hall, a shrieking and laughing Hilde in his arms, and slid to his knees. The bridesmaid's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the groomsmen proceeded to follow Duo's example, picking up their girlfriends and sliding into the dance floor.   
  
The rest of the guests burst out laughing as five gundam pilots were simultaneously slapped.  
  
As soon as the antics of the Grand March were over, the group decided to serve the large wedding cake. Of course, since Duo and Hilde still weren't sober, when they fed each other their cake they mainly got it in each other's hair and face…although it seemed as though Hilde had done that on purpose.  
  
After each guest had had their fill of cake, Duo grabbed Hilde and rushed behind the DJ's stand, grabbing the mike.  
  
"Now, we'd like to do the traditional wedding tosses, starting with the throwing of the bouquet!" he cried, his speech still slurred. "Now all you non-married ladies get up here and get your baseball gloves on, Hilde's got quite the curve ball-bouquet!"  
  
Hilde laughed as Duo blindfolded her and spun her around several times. Then he put her back to the crowd of women and stepped back dramatically so as to get out of the way. Dorothy glared over at Trowa who had pushed her out into the crowd of ladies and stuck her tongue out at him. Trowa only laughed somewhat evilly and turned his gaze back to Hilde. She threw it back with all her might, quickly spinning around and tearing off her blindfold to see who'd catch it. Dorothy and the women next to her all reached for it, almost as if out instinct. However, they were to far to the left of it and watched it as it fell into the hands of an unsuspecting Relena. She stared at it as though she'd never seen one before, then turned on her boyfriend Heero and wiggled it, her eyes mischievous.  
  
"Alright now, ladies, you've had your chance, now its time for the men to catch something. All men without a slave driver, I mean wife-" SMACK "Ow!! Hilde, watchya do that for?!" This earned a laugh from the crowd as the non-married men gathered in the dance floor. This time it was Dorothy's turn to push Trowa out into the crowd. However, Trowa was prepared. He'd though of a shield. He turned back for a second and disappeared from Dorothy's sight, only to return with Solo in his arms. He winked at Dorothy and laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him again.  
  
In front of the crowd, Duo's hands had been tied behind his back and was blindfolded, courtesy of Heero. His duty as Best Man completed, Heero turned into the crowd. Hilde was seated in a folding chair, her legs crossed with the gartered leg on top. Duo was left having to use his teeth to lift up her billowing dress and find the black and red lacy strip on her thigh. The men whistled and cheered as inches of her thigh appeared. Hilde laughed as Duo tickled her with his searching mouth. Finally, he found the garter and began pulling it off her leg. Once he'd gotten it over her foot, Hilde untied him and spun him around like he'd done her. Once properly dizzy, she turned his back to the crowd and let him throw it.  
  
The lacy thing was too light to go very far and as ironic as it seemed, it was only the men in the front of the crowd who had a chance. And standing smack dab in the middle of the fight for the garter and the chance to dance with Relena was Heero Yuy. Now, under normal circumstances, Heero would have simply let someone else grab it…but this was a slow dance with Relena and he hadn't gotten a chance to do that yet. So as it dropped to the floor, he was right in the mess of things, grabbing for the frilly under-thing. And with a few well-placed Preventer moves, he stood up, holding the strip in his hand and pumping it like he'd one the Olympics.  
  
Relena and Heero had their dance alone on the floor, all the girls sighing as they watched the romantic scene unfold. The couple was soon followed by Duo and Hilde's dance alone, which brought only more sighs and a few tears from the ladies in the room.   
  
"One more slow song folks, then I'm handing it over to the live band over there!" the DJ called out as the song ended. She gestured towards the band Short Story Long that were setting up in the back of the room. Trowa sighed, his anxiety starting to wane. There was only one more dance left to go and then he'd be free. Dorothy reached for his arm and gently tugged him onto the dance floor.  
  
"Let's dance one more time before we leave, okay?" she bargained. Trowa nodded and put his arms around her waist. He bowed his head toward hers as she snaked her arms around his neck. They swayed together on the crowded dance floor, letting their expressions and bodies speak for them. This gave Trowa time to think and consider some things that were weighing his mind down. 'Am I ready to do this?' he asked himself. He pulled away slightly to look into Dorothy's face. Her eyes were closed and she was humming softly to the music. The dancing lights played on her face and he could imagine her playing in natural sunlight with their children, their laughter identical to hers. He could almost picture her as if it were a memory, sitting on the floor with their own small family opening Christmas presents or baking cookies. The song came to an instrumental break and Dorothy's eyes fluttered open. She cocked her head to once side as though asking why he was staring at her with such an odd expression. He smiled and kissed her forehead, pulling her close again.  
  
'Yes, I'm ready for this,' he answered himself.  
  
"Trowa, where are we going?" Dorothy laughed as he pulled her along the street. He had blindfolded her so he'd be able to surprise her. He took different paths then he usual did to confuse her and keep her guessing. He wanted this to be a complete surprise.  
  
"If I told you, I'd ruin the surprise," he answered. Dorothy laughed at his response and clung tighter to his hand as he turned a corner rapidly. She thanked her stars that she'd listened to him and taken her high heels off as they turned yet another corner. They slowed down as they reached what must be their destination and Dorothy heard him fiddling around with a key. A door opened and he led her inside, keeping a hold on her hand as he shut the door behind them. A familiar smell overwhelmed her as she took a step further into the room.  
  
"Can I take my blindfold off yet?" she asked, her voice quiet. Trowa shook his head, forgetting she couldn't see it momentarily.  
  
"No, not yet. I'll take it off when we get there," he replied. "We're almost there, don't worry," he said, pre-countering the inward groan that she needed to walk even further on aching feet. Dorothy nodded and let Trowa lead her. The un-place able smell wafted away as they entered a new room or hall. Trowa stopped again to open a door and led her into another room. The light that had shown through the blindfold disappeared as she heard him close the door.   
  
"Stay right there, okay?" he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Dorothy nodded again and backed herself into a wall, so she'd feel a little more secure in this room with so little light. She turned her head in the direction she thought Trowa had gone and watched through the fold for any sign as to where she was. A dim light was now shining in Trowa's direction and she could just make out his figure approaching her.  
  
"Can I see what my surprise is yet?" she asked eagerly. Trowa laughed, the sound filling what had to be a fairly empty room.  
  
"Yes, you can," he answered, lifting the blindfold off. Dorothy blinked a moment to get used to the light and gasped. She looked around herself to make sure she was really where she thought she was, but there was no mistaking it.  
  
"It's the niche," she whispered. Trowa laughed and nodded, wrapping his arms around her. Dorothy placed her hands on his arms for support, as she scanned the makeover he'd given the room. In one corner he'd made a small bed on the longer of the two couches, plush pillows looking ever so welcoming. In the middle of the opposite wall, he'd set up what looked like tens of candles on one table, adding a warm glow to the room. However, the oddest thing was the decorations; they were all Christmas decorations. It was closing in on Christmas, yes, but they hadn't even hit Thanksgiving yet. Trowa's arms left her as he turned around and hit a switch. The song Greensleeves filled the room. Dorothy laughed and turned to him again. He smiled and bent down to plug in a cord that disappeared behind some gauze she hadn't spotted earlier.  
  
Icicle lights lit up all around the top of the room and above them on the ceiling, wrapped in light red paper. The poor girl had taken in too much and small tears leaked out the corner of her eyes as she laughed and spun around the room.  
  
"I figured since we never really got to celebrate our own Christmas, why not do it a little earlier this year?" Trowa explained, as he pulled her to him again. Dorothy laughed and cried at the same time, her hands fisting themselves in his white button up shirt. Trowa threw his black jacket next to their "bed" and led her over towards it. "Okay, now sit down," he directed, leading her down. Still holding her, he squatted down in front of her and wiped her tears away, his smile fixed on his face. He kissed her, savoring the feel of her lips against his; it was a feeling he knew he'd never get tired of.   
  
When he pulled away, he stood up and reached into his pocket, keeping the item hidden in his hands. He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in one of his own. He positioned himself so that he was down on one knee and Dorothy gasped again, knowing what was coming.   
  
"Dorothy, I love you," he began. She smiled, more tears falling down her face.  
  
"I love you too," she choked out. Trowa smiled and stroked her face, wiping off as many tears as he could.  
  
"I've seen how happy Duo and Hilde are, and I know we have what they had before they got married. And now I want what they have married; Dorothy, do you remember when we went to that gazebo in the park and we saw that elderly couple walking past? I can see us together for that long, I can see us sharing a real home and having children, watching them grow up, having grandchildren-" his voice broke and Dorothy laughed, her eyes sparkling. Trowa smiled and kissed her again. "Dorothy, Dot, I want to be with you for the rest of my life and for longer; I want you to belong to me and me to belong to you." He gathered up his courage and produced the ring that he'd been saving up for with his paycheck for the last 6 months. It wasn't the most extravagant but Dorothy already loved it, her eyes matching the sparkling single diamond enclosed in silver. "Dorothy Catalonia, will you marry me?"  
  
Dorothy was silent for a moment, still crying. She opened her mouth to speak but was too choked up to speak. So she slid off the couch and into his arms, nodding frantically against his shoulder. She pulled away and wiped at her face, smiling the biggest smile he'd ever seen.  
  
"Yes, a thousand times, yes!" she finally cried, falling back against him. Trowa laughed and stood up, taking her with him and spinning her around. Their lips met again and it was as magnetic and powerful as the night they kissed beneath the orange glow of an outside lamplight flooding into their apartment. His grip on her tightened and he knew this was the moment where his life really meant something, this was the moment they'd both been waiting for their whole lives.  
  
As he pulled away from her lips, he touched her face and made her open her eyes. As he drowned in their sea-like depths, he remembered something he'd been told in the circus when he was taught how to play the guitar. He'd asked the man teaching him how he got his guitar to be concert tuned and the man waved a hand dismissively.   
  
"Trowa, it doesn't matter if your guitar is tuned the right way, just as long as each string is in tune to each other, then you'll sound just fine. In fact, I think it often sounds better when you're not in tune the right way; it has it's own unique sound and flavor…" he trailed off and his eyes went distant. "It's like love, Trowa. When you're in tune with someone else, it doesn't matter if you're in tune with the rest of the world. Because when you're played together you make a beautiful sound unique to only the two of you and that's something special and rare," he laughed as he caught Trowa's expression and patted him on the knee. "When you find that someone, you'll know what I mean!"  
  
Trowa smiled and placed butterfly kisses down her jaw and to her lips. He laughed against her lips and pulled away, spinning her around again. Yes, he knew what the man meant. He was in tune with Dorothy and no other melody ever sounded so wonderful as the one playing on her face and his.  
  
The End  
  
Did you enjoy this story? I hope so; now get off the computer and go look for your special someone and get in tune; the orchestra is waiting!! Love to all,  
  
MadameHotaru.of.87 


End file.
